Hard to Forget
by Jibiathon
Summary: COMPLETE! Sarah and Jareth did their best to forget each other, but even 10 years later, it's not that easy. JS...please R&R!
1. careful what you daydream for

**A/N: **This was my first fanfic, and looking back now, there are many things I would like to change. Perhaps someday I will, but for now, I'm just going to leave it as it is. I would also like to say that during the time when I was writing this story, I was reading a LOT of Labyrinth fan fiction, and I know that some ideas from other authors, such as **Clever Lass**, have influenced my own ideas. So I just want to thank all of the wonderful authors out there who have come up with so many interesting, unique ideas.

Happy Reading!

Ch. 1 Regrets and Understanding

Sarah lay back against her pillows. She was exhausted but there was no hope of sleep anytime soon. Her friends had gone back to the Underground only a few minutes before. The party in her room had been wonderful; she was thankful she had made so many loyal friends during the short time she had been in the Labyrinth.

She sighed as she thought of them. They had told her all she had to do was call when she needed them, but she wasn't sure if she could. Not if the one she really wanted wouldn't come.

She sighed again as she thought of the choice she had made. Young as she was, she wasn't stupid, and she knew exactly what Jareth the Goblin King had been offering her. Her dreams had been dangled right before her eyes, and she had let them go.

"You have no power over me," she repeated softly to herself. "I don't know if that will ever be completely true."

Part of her was overjoyed at what she'd accomplished. She had made a terrible mistake when she had wished Toby away; it was a choice she had regretted almost instantly. Although it was a frustrating and sometimes terrifying journey, she was glad she had conquered the Labyrinth. She had righted her wrong.

She only wished there had been another way to do it. Although in some ways he terrified her, she had hated the look of anguish in the Goblin King's eyes as she had defeated him. She knew that he had only been doing what she asked him to do. His words rang in her ears, "I've turned the world upside down, and I've done it all for you."

"He probably thinks I'm nothing but an immature brat, too young and naïve to understand what was really happening," she thought to herself.

Reflecting her journey in her mind, she cringed at how she had behaved towards him. She could clearly hear herself saying, "It's not fair!" as though it were her motto. Well, maybe everything that happened wasn't fair, but she couldn't blame that all on Jareth. It was true that he had only done as she asked.

And then there was the ballroom. Sarah smiled just thinking about the dance she shared with Jareth, and how close she had come to not completing her mission. She was enchanted by him, and although she partially hated that he used the ballroom to distract her, she didn't care. That was when she thought she started to fall in love with him.

God, it was so hard to have to leave him. She would have given anything to stay with him-except her innocent baby brother. She smiled as she thought of Toby, sleeping safely in his crib. She already felt closer to him, and she knew she would be the kind of sister he deserved to have.

She could only hope that Jareth understood why she had made the choice to leave. He had to know that she really wanted to stay…didn't he? She frowned as she realized she hadn't given him a single reason to know how she felt. She had been nothing but cruel to him, and then when he was trying to give her everything she ever wanted, including his heart, she had thrown it in his face.

No, she thought, Jareth wouldn't be having any good thoughts about her at all. It was best to try to forget about him. Why suffer for no reason? It didn't seem likely to her that the Goblin King would be pining away for her.

She only hoped that one day he would understand why she did what she did.

The Goblin King lounged on his throne, brooding about his loss. Really nothing was hurt but his pride. The Labyrinth would suffer no long-term effects from his loss, but he was afraid he would.

Damn it, he had loved her. He shook his head, thinking, why had he been foolish enough to fall in love with the girl?

Yes, his pride-and heart-was definitely wounded, but he was also angry. He had offered more to her than he had ever offered any other, and she had refused. SHE refused HIM! Arrogant as he was, it was unthinkable that she had turned him down. Didn't she realize he could give her everything she ever wanted, that he could make her happier than any other man?

"Obviously not," he sighed. He supposed he couldn't really blame her. After all, she had made her way through every single trial the Labyrinth had presented her, so how could she be expected to back down at the very end? Not Sarah, she had too much strength and determination to back down.

He wasn't conceited enough to think she should pick him over her little baby brother. If anything, he should be glad that the woman he loved wasn't the kind of girl that would willingly turn her baby brother over to the goblins just so she could be happy. In the end, she proved to be selfless, and he grudgingly admired that.

His emotions were rather conflicted. He knew he loved her, and he knew he understood why she had to leave him. He wasn't completely cold-hearted. On the other hand, he was the fierce Goblin King! He had a reputation of being cold and cruel, and he couldn't let his subjects see him mourning the loss of a mortal girl, especially one that defeated him. They would lose respect for him, and how could he be a good king if his subjects ridiculed him?

No, that wouldn't do. He would do his best to go on as if nothing had happened. Hard as it may be, he would do his best to forget the one who captured his heart.


	2. A surprise at the bar

Ch 2 Be careful what you daydream about

10 years later

Sarah breathed a sigh of relief as she looked at the clock. 5:04, time to go home. She had never been so happy it was Friday. It had been an extremely taxing week.

She gathered up the materials she would need over the weekend, and then navigated her way through the maze of cubicles that made up the office where she worked.

She stopped at her friend Julie's cube on her way. "Are we still on for tonight?" Sarah asked.

"Sure thing girly, I'll pick you up at 8," Julie smiled at her as she rummaged around the drawers in her desk. "I'm not gonna get out of here for at least another hour or so, Lame-o Waimo decided to dump a bunch of extra work on me at the last minute."

Sarah giggled at the use of their nickname for James Waimo, their tyrant of a boss. The nickname was immature, sure, but they still got a kick out of making fun of him. It made working for him bearable if they could laugh at him.

"All right, I'll see you later. I'm gonna go home and beautify myself," Sarah said with a smile.

"Yeah, like you need it, you know you're totally gorgeous," Julie replied distractedly; she was already engrossed in something on her computer screen.

"Bye Jules," Sarah said as she made a beeline for the exit.

At home, Sarah took a long hot shower, marveling at how good the water felt against her skin. She hadn't realized how tired she was until she got into the shower and let the warm spray revive her.

After drying her hair, she rummaged through her closet for something to wear, cursing her tendency to forget to do the laundry. Everything she wanted to wear was either dirty or crumpled in the bottom of her closet, which was basically the same thing.

She finally settled on hip-hugging blue jeans and a simple black tank top. She had natural good looks, so she only used a bit of eyeliner on her eyes and a touch of mascara, and she was ready.

She glanced at the clock; not even 7:30. Julie was notorious for being late, so Sarah figured she had a good hour before Jules came to pick her up. They had had plans all week to go to a restaurant/bar that had just opened, and Sarah was looking forward to it. She had been working a lot lately, and hadn't been out much.

She flopped down on her couch and flipped on the TV to pass the time. A commercial came on featuring a gorgeous blond man, who bore a striking resemblance to her latest boyfriend. Or make that ex-boyfriend, after he cheated on her. Thinking about him made her think back to all of her dating disasters.

She had never been lucky in love. Every time a guy seemed too good to be true, he was. Somehow, she didn't attract the "right" kind of men, only the ones who wanted to use her. She sometimes wondered fleetingly if it was something wrong with her, not the guys she went out with. Even with the nicest of men, she always felt like something was missing, although she couldn't explain what it was. It was like a small part of her heart had been claimed by a man, and she had yet to find that man to make her heart complete. She realized that she always held back in relationships, not wanting to delve too deeply into what she may or may not feel. Sometimes she wondered if she would ever meet someone who could make her feel complete.

"But you did, and you let it go," she whispered to herself. Try as she might, he was always in the back of her mind. True to her word, she had done her best to put Jareth out of her mind. But not surprisingly, she didn't succeed. Although it had been ten years, she could close her eyes and still picture him as clear as if he was right beside her. She could see his fluffy mane of blond hair, his beautiful mismatched eyes, and in all her daydreams he wanted her as much as she wanted him.

The mood shifted in the room. Suddenly Sarah was terrified; without opening her eyes she just knew someone was in her apartment with her. She sensed it. Her heart beating wildly, she slowly opened her eyes…and nearly fell off the couch.

Julie stared down at Sarah with an amused grin on her face. She couldn't help laughing at the look on Sarah's face.

"God Julie, you scared me, don't you ever knock?" Sarah asked, feeling her heart beat wildly. As unreasonable as it seemed, she was slightly disappointed that it was only Julie in her home.

'Get real Sarah, do you really think he's just waiting around for you to want him, and that he'll show up just because you think about him?' she asked herself. 'Most likely not. So I'm just gonna have a good night and put him out of my head.'

Sarah grabbed her purse and headed out the door with Julie.

When they arrived at the new nightclub Gemstone, Julie pulled Sarah immediately towards the bar. "Two rum and cokes," Julie said to the bartender. "I'll buy the first round," she told Sarah.

"Okay, thanks," Sarah replied, looking around her. She immediately felt out of place. It seemed like everyone here was a teenager, although you needed to be 21 to get in. It didn't seem like that stopped a lot of people though, judging by the overly-made up young faces around her.

It made Sarah smile, when she realized that while she had spent her teenage years immersed in fantasy worlds, nowadays these kids hung out in bars.

Julie was also checking out the crowd with a disappointed look on her face. "I didn't think it would be all young people," she said with a frown. "Who are we supposed to talk to?"

Sarah laughed at her friend, saying "You mean I'm not enough to talk to? Fine, I'll leave you alone with the kiddies!"

Julie smiled and hit her arm. "No you know that's not what I mean. I was just hoping to, you know, meet someone…it's been forever since I had a date," she said with a scowl.

"Oh, a week is forever?" Sarah teased, remembering Julie telling her about a disastrous date just last weekend.

"For me it is. I get bored easily," Julie replied. She glanced around again and sighed. "Okay, maybe this wasn't the best idea. Let's finish our drinks and find somewhere else…" her voice trailed off as she spotted something behind Sarah.

"What's wrong?" Sarah asked, craning her neck to try to see what Julie was staring at. She couldn't see anyone worth goggling over. "What are you looking at?"

"Only the best-looking men I've seen in years," Julie said, her eyes wide.

Sarah turned around again. "Where? I don't see any…." Her jaw dropped in shock. It wasn't possible. There was no way that he was here, in this teenagers' bar, it just couldn't happen. Sarah blinked, thinking it was just a man who looked a lot like him. But no, as he got closer, she could tell by the wild hair and mismatched eyes that it was the one and only Goblin King making his way towards her.


	3. A daydreamer and a spy

Ch. 4

His eyes were piercing hers as he walked towards her. She couldn't tear her gaze away. She was afraid if she did, it might not be real. Or maybe she was scared that it would be real. She couldn't tell whether her heart was beating so hard because of fear or excitement.

Both, she decided as Jareth stopped directly in front of her. The man he was with was already engaged in conversation with Julie, who looked happy as a clam.

That left Sarah alone. With Jareth. Never had she felt more alone, even though there were hundreds of people around her. She barely even heard them. All she could concentrate on was Jareth and the way he was looking at her.

"Sarah," he said, gazing into her eyes. She felt a shiver run through her at the sound of her name on his lips.

She licked her dry lips and took a long drink to wet her parched throat. She had imagined seeing him again so many times, now here he was and she couldn't think of a thing to say. If only he would say something else, could he please do something except stare at her with those hypnotic eyes?

"What are you doing here?" she asked him, her voice cracking slightly. She blushed and took another sip of her drink.

He thought carefully about how to reply. It wouldn't do to have her know he still cared for her. She had ignored him for ten years, he couldn't let that go. No, it was best to make her think he didn't want to be here.

"You called," he said with little warmth.

Sarah thought back frantically through the last few hours, she was a little confused. "But I never called you, I never even said your name!" _Although I can't say I'm sorry you're here now. _

Jareth smiled at her, his eyes glinting. "Ah, but you did, dear Sarah. You don't always need to say my name to bring me here. In your mind you wished to see me."

Sarah remembered what –make that_ who_- she had been thinking about when Julie had arrived to pick her up. "But that was nothing! That doesn't even qualify as a wish, all I did was picture you for a second, it wasn't anything like I usually fantasize-" she cut herself off abruptly, realizing what she was saying. She felt herself turning red as she grabbed her drink and gulped down the last swallows. She wasn't a big drinker, she could feel the effects of this one lousy drink, she could blame her babbling on the alcohol, she-

"Like you usually what?" Jareth asked her with a satisfied smile.

By the glimmer in his eyes and the way he was smirking at her, she had the feeling he knew exactly what she was going to say. Sarah tried to avoid telling Jareth that she had had more than one fantasy about him, and not all of them were innocent.

"Well, I don't usually daydream about _you,_ that's all, so it's odd that when I suddenly had a passing thought of you, after all these years, you all of a sudden show up. And anyway, even if I did want to see you, why didn't you just come to my house, why are you here, of all places?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

Jareth could tell she was lying about dreaming of him, but he decided to let it go for the moment.

"I thought it would be more amusing if I surprised you here. I admit, I thought it would be interesting when I heard you and your friend discussing your plans to come here," he replied, realizing too late his mistake.

Sarah looked up at him, her eyes flashing. "And just how did you happen to hear us talking?" she asked suspiciously.

Being the cold Goblin King that he was, he didn't blush but he also didn't meet her gaze. "That's not important. What's important is that I've been called here, by _you, _whether you believe it or not, and I can't go back until we've resolved whatever issue that made you bring me here. So I suggest you start explaining." He crossed his arms and stared at her expectantly.

**A/N**: Please review! Let me know what you think.


	4. too much to take

Ch 5

Since he had let the conversation about her fantasies drop, she decided to let the fact that he spied on her go as well and concentrate on the main issue, which in her mind was, how could she still want him so much that just a small daydream brought him here? She didn't understand that, since many of her fantasies were longer and, well, more explicit.

Then she felt Julie grab her arm. Sarah looked at her, and Julie wiggled her eyebrows as if to say "Look at the hotties we picked up!" It was then that Sarah registered the fact that Jareth had been with someone, someone who was currently flirting outrageously with Julie.

"Who is that?" she asked Jareth, hoping to avoid talking about the real issue for a moment.

Jareth glanced at his friend, and for a second Sarah could have sworn she saw genuine warmth in his eyes. "That is Bayron. He has been my friend since we were children."

Sarah was a little surprised. From what she remembered of the Labyrinth, it didn't seem like Jareth had friends. Just loud, noisy goblins. She wondered why Jareth had brought a friend with him, but decided not to pursue that thought just yet.

"Oh." Sarah looked at Julie, who had headed to the dance floor with Bayron. _Well, I guess she's not so interested in leaving now._

Sarah almost ordered another drink, but she decided against it. Her head was already slightly fuzzy. How much rum did they put in that thing?

She turned her thoughts to Jareth, who was still looking at her, waiting for her to explain why she brought him here. She didn't know what to say. She was beginning to feel the shock of suddenly seeing the Goblin King. It had almost seemed natural at first, the way they fell into their conversation. But now, she realized just how absurd it was that they were here, in this place, talking. It was all of a sudden too much for her. She felt like she had to get out of there before she suffocated.

She jumped out of her seat and ran for the door, desperately needing some fresh air. She pushed through the crowd waiting to be let in and leaned against the side of the building. Her legs were shaking, and they felt like jelly. She slid down until she was sitting on the ground.

Jareth had followed her outside, and now he sat down next to her. She braced herself for a sarcastic remark, but none came. She glanced over at him and saw nothing but concern in his eyes.

He was concerned about her? How could he be? She had spent the last ten years hoping he forgave her, but in her heart knowing he could do nothing but despise her. How could he not? She had defeated him and left him. Could her heart have been wrong this whole time? She didn't know, this was all too much to handle. The one man she had longed to see, yet never expected to see again, was right here in front of her. She tried to get a hold of herself and concentrate on what was going on.

She sighed and looked up at Jareth. "I'm sorry. I just had to get out of there for a second, it was just too much. I mean, you're _here _and I never thought you'd be here again, and I can't understand how I brought you here, and God, I'm so sorry I'm babbling, I just don't know what to say, part of me wants you just to go away but part of me is so glad you're here, and-" she stopped before she embarrassed herself again.

Jareth felt his heart lift a little. She was glad he was here? _He_ was glad that _she_ was glad. He tried not to let her see that though. This was the first time they saw each other in ten years, he couldn't let her see how much she still meant to him after all this time. That would make him seem weak, and the Goblin Kingshould beanything but weak.

Sarah was looking up at him with her beautiful green eyes, she looked almost tearful. God, she wasn't going to cry, was she? He never knew how to handle a crying female.

"It's okay, Sarah," he said. "We don't have to talk now, I don't want you to get upset."

Sarah looked surprised. "Thank you. I'm usually better at keeping my composure, seeing you was just such a shock. I'm sorry I'm not handling this better." She gave him a small smile.

Jareth was slightly shocked. What happened to theimmature Sarah Williams he had known? She would never smile so demurely at him. In fact, he had been fairly certain she had hated him. He would never let her know it, but he was also somewhat affected by their meeting. He had had no idea how Sarah would react to seeing him again, even if she had been the one to call him. The Sarah he remembered thought him to be her adversary, and he was slightly surprised that she wasn't yelling at him.

Sarah could read the surprise in his face, and she guessed correctly what he was surprised about. "What, Jareth, I'm not allowed to act like an adult? I'm not a teenager anymore. The last time I saw you, I was young and immature. I know how to handle myself better now, and I also realize that I have no reason to be angry with you. All those years ago, you were just doing what I asked. You weren't the villain I thought you were. Don't think I didn't realize that."

She stopped herself from pouring out her heart to him. There was so much she wanted him to know, but not in this setting. It was just too strange.

Jareth was, once again, shocked by what she had said. It was almost hard for him to believe that she hadn't been the immature child she had seemed to be. If anything, she had been more mature than he gave her credit for, if she had actually understood what he was offering her, and turned it down to save her brother. Did she mean to tell him that she didn't despise him? That she didn't think him an evil person for simply doing what she asked? He unknowingly agreed with Sarah; there was a lot for both of them to take in, and it didn't feel right talking about it here.

He looked over at her, only to see her looking at him. Her face was inches away from his. He could almost feel her breath on his lips. Slowly her mouth came closer to his.


	5. Is this for real?

Ch 6 An untimely interruption

"There you guys are, I was wondering where you went!" Sarah pulled back sharply from Jareth at the sound of Julie's voice, and she and Jareth jumped to their feet.

Luckily, Julie was oblivious to what she had almost interrupted. "Hey Sar, me and Bayron here are gonna head over to my place for a little while. You seemed okay with his friend, so I hope you don't mind?" Julie pleaded with her friend, her eyes hopeful.

Sarah sighed. She didn't know how she felt about being left alone with Jareth. _Oh, don't be stupid Sarah, _she chided herself_. You know you'd do anything to spend time alone with him._

"That's fine, Jules. You're a big girl, you don't need to ask my permission." Sarah gave her friend a small smile to show she was joking. "I'm fine with Jareth. By the way, Jareth, this is my friend Julie, who so rudely ignored you!"

Jareth smiled at Julie, saying "Good to meet you." He and Bayron held a silent conversation with their eyes before Jareth said, "I suppose we'll see you two tomorrow?"

Julie giggled and wrapped her arms around Bayron. "If everything goes according to plan…maybe even later than that!" With that, she and Bayron strolled away, leaving Sarah all alone with Jareth.

"Well, I guess we're going to have to walk home," she told him. "It's not too far, I guess, or we could call a cab…" she trailed off, seeing that he was giving her a puzzled look.

"You want me to come home with you?" he asked her.

"Well….yeah, I guess so. I mean, not come home with me like Bayron is going home with Julie. You know, we just have a lot to talk about, and you said you can't go back home yet, so I just figured it's convenient to go to my apartment. I mean, just to talk." _Why, oh why did she keep babbling like an idiot?_

Jareth watched Sarah try to talk her way out of wanting to spend the night with him. He knew that wasn't what she meant, but she was so cute when she rambled on. This was definitely a different Sarah, one who he obviously affected. He thought back to the moment before Julie interrupted them, when Sarah had almost kissed him. He smiled, thinking how nice it would have been to have felt her lips on his. No, he definitely didn't mind going home with Sarah.

He realized he'd been silent too long when he saw Sarah looking at him with narrowed eyes. As he caught her gaze, she flushed a bit, and he was afraid she'd guessed what he'd been thinking about.

He quickly took charge. "There's no need to walk, or call a cab," he said, snapping his fingers. An instant later, Sarah found herself standing in her living room, feeling slightly dizzy from being so suddenly transported.

Leaving Jareth to study her living room, she went into the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. She had a feeling she'd need it tonight. While it was brewing, she almost pinched herself to make sure she was awake. This night was surreal. She peeked through the kitchen door, and saw Jareth looking over her CD collection. Even when looking right at him, she had a hard time believing he was really here.

_Well, _she told herself_, I have a feeling it doesn't get more real than that man in your living room. So go in there and have a conversation like two civilized adults. You used to be an actress, you can pretend it's normal to have the Goblin King in your living room._

"Do you want any coffee?" she called to Jareth.

"No thank you, my dear, I've had the displeasure of trying it once before, and I must say, it's awful," he said, grimacing.

"Suit yourself," she said, smiling at the look on his face. "I think coffee's the nectar of the gods, myself."

She took her time preparing her coffee, telling herself she wasn't avoiding the inevitable talk with Jareth, she just wanted a perfect cup of coffee.

Taking a deep breath, she took her cup into the living room and sat down on the couch.

"Okay, Jareth. Let's do it," she said, then immediately blushed at her choice of words. "Not _do it_, do it, I mean, let's talk." God, could her face get any hotter? Why did she keep putting her foot in her mouth, did he really make her that nervous?

Seeing how embarrassed she was, Jareth stifled his laughter. He looked at her seriously and said, "Yes, we do need to talk. I shall start."

Sarah breathed a sigh of relief that he let her latest blunder go unmentioned. "Okay," she said, settling into the couch and sipping her coffee.

Jareth looked thoughtful for a moment, then began to speak.

**A/N: **Thank you to **luverofsong **for my first review, I really appreciate it.I know it was slow in the beginning, I wish I hadn't posted the story before I finished it because there is a lot I would like to change. Oh well, I'm just making the best of what I gave myself! Thank you for reading...everyone who reads, REVIEW! Please review, I need a little encouragement! Thanks!


	6. a longawaited conversation

Ch 7 A long-awaited conversation

"Well, I suppose you want to know what brought me here," he began. "I already told you, it was your wish to see me that make me come. I don't mean to embarrass you again, but I am aware that you have thought of me over the years."

Sarah pictured some of her not-so-innocent fantasies and found herself blushing yet again. "Damn it Jareth, how the hell do you know that?" She was a little peeved that he knew her dreams.

He gave a small smile, saying, "Don't worry, I can't actually _see _what your thoughts are. It's just more of a feeling I get when you think of me. I can sense you thinking about me, kind of like the feeling you sometimes get when someone is staring at you."

"Anyway," he continued, "I don't know what exactly you were thinking of over the years, but I knew it had to do with me. Your feelings were never strong enough to actually call me to you though. At least, not until tonight."

"But I don't understand," Sarah interrupted, silently thanking her lucky stars he couldn't see the pictures in her mind. "I wasn't even thinking that hard about you tonight. I admit, I was picturing you in my mind. There's no sense in denying what you already know. But it was more like a passing thought, not a wish to bring you to me."

Even as she spoke, she realized her words weren't quite true. She hadn't admitted it to herself at the time, but while she was visualizing him, she had felt a deep sense of longing to actually have him in front of her, to be able to see him in person, not just in her mind, and that was something she hadn't felt before during her daydreams.

Jareth was watching her carefully. "Regardless, tonight you wanted to see me. I felt a pull so strong, I couldn't ignore it."

Sarah decided to accept it. Something she had done had brought him here; there was no point in dwelling on it.

"Okay," she said slowly, sorting out her thoughts. "If it was you who felt a pull to me, why did someone else come with you?"

Jareth hesitated, not wanting to tell her the real reason he had brought his life-long friend with him. _Because I needed someone there for support in case you rejected me, _he thought. Out loud, he said, "Simply because I knew of your plans to be with your friend Julie tonight, and as Bayron was visiting with me, I brought him as a way to keep her attention elsewhere."

He grinned. "Plus, he was rather bored and was dying for something more exciting to do than play with goblins."

Sarah smiled back at him. "Well, he got Julie's attention all right. Is she going to be okay with him?"

"Why, what do you think he's going to do to her?" he shot back, feeling defensive of his friend.

"Well, probably nothing she doesn't want him to do," Sarah said, understanding his defensiveness. "Plus, I have the feeling if he's friends with you, he isn't the type to harm women for fun."

Jareth was pleasantly surprised at the unexpected compliment. "Thank you, Sarah. I assure you, no friend of mine would harm a friend of yours. I'm sure they're both enjoying themselves."

Sarah grinned, knowing her friend's healthy sexual appetite. "I know." She fell silent for a moment, feeling the need to finally explain her feelings to him.

"Jareth," she began hesitantly, "Ten years ago, I was really just a child. At fifteen, I might have thought I knew the way everything worked, but I didn't. I grew up the day I solved your Labyrinth. I know how I acted towards you, like I was an ungrateful brat, and I'm glad I'm finally getting the chance to say I'm sorry."

Jareth started to interrupt her, but she held up her hand and said, "No, please, let me finish. I've waited too long to tell you these things, and if I don't do it now, I might never do it."

He nodded for her to continue.

"Jareth, during those few seconds in the end when I forgot the words to say to win, part of me wanted to give up. Part of me didn't want to say the words, because I understood what you were offering me. I know it didn't seem like it then, but I did. I didn't want you to know how much your words affected me, because I had to save Toby. Don't you see, if I had given in to my dreams and stayed with you, Toby would have been gone. As soon as I wished him away, I realized it was a mistake, but it was too late. I grew up in that single moment when I defeated you, because I made the right choice, a mature choice. I couldn't worry about making myself happy, not when I had Toby's life depending on me."

She stopped to take a breath, trying to hold back ten years worth of tears, and Jareth took the opportunity to speak up.

"You don't need to explain yourself to me Sarah," he said quietly, seeing how distressed she had been all these years. "I knew that all along. In the beginning, I admit I found you to be immature. You seemed so ready for adventure, I thought you didn't really care about the child, you just wanted a chance at the Labyrinth you had been obsessed with for so long. But when you stood up to me in the end, I understood I had misjudged you. Do you not think I couldn't tell by the look in your eyes that you wanted to stay? I knew it, and I probably could have forced you to stay. But I admired the choice you were making, as much as it hurt me."

By now, Jareth had sat down next to Sarah and taken her hands in his. Looking deeply into her eyes, he decided to hell with the tough Goblin King act. "I loved you then, Sarah."

She took a quivering breath, trying to keep her emotions in check. "Loved me _then_?" she asked softly.

Jareth threw all caution to the wind as he said, "I loved you then as I still love you now."

Sarah was quiet. The silence was agonizing. Jareth waited, his heart pounding. He had put his heart on the line, yet again, to the woman who had broken it before, and she was silent.

Sarah burst out laughing.

A/N: I have a lot of ideas for this story, so it could go on for quite a few more chapters, or it could end very soon. It all depends on you, dear readers. If anyone, even one person, is interested in seeing this story go in, it will. Please review and let me know what you think!


	7. Bad Laughter

**A/N**: Is this story so bad that no one can bear to leave me any reviews? I'm guilty of reading and not reviewing myself, but now being the writer, I see how discouraging that is. I'd just appreciate a little feedback, let me know what you think. Thanks so much for reading!

Ch. 8 Bad Laughter

Jareth stared at Sarah in shock as she laughed uncontrollably. He felt himself growing angry. Was it possible that she hadn't grown up as much as he thought? He had just bared his heart to her, and it had sent her into hysterics. He watched as she leaned forward, her head in her hands, shoulders shaking with laughter.

"What, may I ask, is it you found so amusing about what I said?" he hissed at her with ice in his eyes.

Sarah sat back up wiped tears of laughter from her eyes, trying to forcer herself to stop laughing.

"God, Jareth, I'm so sorry," she gasped as another giggle escaped from her, earning her an even icier glare from Jareth. _No, not Jareth, _she thought_. Right now, he is every bit the Goblin King. _And she knew she deserved his anger, too. The man had just made himself extremely vulnerable to her, and here she was laughing like a maniac.

Suddenly the laughter left her. "Jareth, I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am, I swear, I wasn't laughing at you. It was just one of those things, where what I was feeling was more than I could take, so I just started laughing. And you know how it is sometimes, when you start laughing and can't stop, especially when you're not supposed to be laughing in the first place.." her voice trailed off as she saw that the icy glare wasn't melting. Somehow, she doubted that Jareth often found anything funny.

She closed her eyes for a second before she continued. "It was either burst out laughing or burst into tears, and somehow it seemed easier to laugh. If I cry, then I'm letting out everything I've been feeling for the last decade. Jareth, I've built a wall around my heart so that I don't get hurt. I stop myself from loving anyone because I just can't do it. You will never know how much I tried to forget about you, to just find a good guy, get married, the whole deal. But I couldn't. You were always there, you know it's true if you really did sense every time I thought of you."

By now, Jareth's glare had softened somewhat. He was hurt that she had laughed after he bared his soul to her, but he supposed he could understand how it happened. He'd rather deal with a laughing woman than a crying one, that's for sure.

But with everything she said, she still didn't say what he wanted to hear. He'd known for years that she still thought about him, that wasn't news to him. What he wanted to know was how she felt about him. He didn't want to just ask her. That might put pressure on her to answer how she knew he wanted her to. He didn't want that, he wanted her to tell him she loved him by her own free will, when she felt ready to.

Sarah was looking at him, all seriousness now. She wisely kept quiet while he thought over what she'd said. When he turned his now thoughtful gaze on her, she held her breath.

"Sarah, I understand. Don't think I'm pleased with your reaction to my confession, but nevertheless, I understand."

Sarah let out the breath she'd been holding. She grabbed his hand, saying, "I'm so glad you don't hate me, I was scared you'd never want to talk to me again. I'm so sorry Jareth. I'm sorry for how I acted tonight, I'm sorry for how I acted ten years ago, I just want this night to be over so we can start fresh."

"Very well, Sarah. We'll speak again in the morning." Jareth's voice wasn't as warm as it had been before her hysterical outburst, but neither was it cold. She was thankful for that.

"I guess you can sleep here on the couch, my apartment only has one bedroom."

Earlier, he would have made some suggestive comment about sharing her bed, but now he just wasn't in the mood.

"That's fine," he said shortly.

Sarah went to the hall closet to gather some spare pillows and a blanket for him. She left him to arrange his nest on her couch while she changed into her pajamas.

As she brushed her teeth, she wondered if she had completely ruined his feelings for her. She sincerely hoped not, because then she would have no release for her own feelings.

"Why didn't you just tell him, you idiot?" she asked herself, spraying the mirror with spots of toothpaste. "Three simple words…_I love you_…is that so hard to say?" But somehow it was. She just wasn't ready to move to that level yet with Jareth, never mind for now the fact that he apparently was. She just wanted to go to bed and hope that everything worked out okay in the morning. She was too tired to deal with this anymore tonight.

She headed back to the living room to say good night to Jareth, only to see that he was already sleeping. He looked so beautiful, and so peaceful.

"Good night, my love," she whispered softly as she looked at him.

After a moment, she turned and went into her room.

Jareth waited until he heard her door close before he opened his eyes. He knew it was foolish, but feigning sleep was easier than facing her at that moment. He heard her soft good night. _My love_. She had called him her love. He only wished she would have the courage to say it when she thought he was awake.

He turned on his side and closed his eyes, hoping that sleep would bring a better day.


	8. Just friends?

Ch. 9

Sarah slowly opened her eyes, squinting against the bright sunshine that flowed in from her window. She'd forgotten to close the blinds last night.

Suddenly she sat straight up in bed. Last night…the bar…Jareth…in her apartment.

All the previous nights events came flooding back to her. She listened intently for a moment, trying to tell if Jareth was awake yet. She heard no sounds coming from her living room…except for a light snore.

She giggled at that. Somehow, it made Jareth seem more real to her, to know that the King of the Goblins snored.

She pushed away the covers and quietly made her way to the bathroom, where she took a long, hot shower. She spent a long time thinking about how she was going to mend things with Jareth. She hated knowing that yet again, she had hurt him.

She finally got out when the water started to cool down. She stepped out of the shower and reached for her towel. Instead of her towel, she felt something else.

"Jareth!" she shrieked as she yanked the shower curtain around her. "What the hell are you doing? I'm trying to take a shower!" She was very conscious of her nakedness, and she felt a flush creeping up her face as she stared at Jareth.

He was very conscious of her nakedness, as well, and he was trying not to show it.

"I apologize Sarah, I didn't realize you were in here, I just had to use the restroom," he said, his gaze on her curtain-wrapped body.

"You mean you didn't hear the water running?" she asked, growing more uncomfortable under his stare.

"No, I-I'm sorry, I didn't realize what it was…" he couldn't take his eyes off of her, she looked so beautiful with her wet, tangled hair tumbling down her shoulders, her face freshly scrubbed and shiny. He suddenly realized that he was ogling her, and it was his turn to flush. "I'm sorry, I'll leave and let you finish." He turned and almost ran out of the bathroom.

She cautiously unwrapped herself from her shower curtain and grabbed her towel. She wished she had brought her clothes into the bathroom with her. She just hoped Jareth wasn't waiting right outside the door. She made a mad dash for her bedroom and slammed the door shut.

Jareth heard the door slam and groaned to himself. That was not a good way to start the day, not when he had so many hopes for today. He was aware that he continuously embarrassed Sarah, and he felt bad about that. He vowed to turn the day around, and make things right between them.

He heard Sarah come out of her bedroom, simply dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. He glanced down at his own sleep-rumpled clothing and waved his hand. He was instantly wearing fresh clothes, and not those awful blue jeans he wore last night to fit in. He was back in his usual attire of tight pants, boots, and a ruffly shirt.

Sarah stopped when she saw him. She hadn't realized until she saw him in his natural form how, well, _normal_ he had looked last night. She decided that she liked him better this way, somehow his clothing made him look even more handsome.

He caught the way she was looking at him. "Like what you see?" he asked teasingly, hoping she wasn't upset about the bathroom incident.

"Yes," Sarah smiled.

Jareth hadn't expected that, and Sarah had to laugh at his expression.

"Why lie? I like what I see," she said as she walked into the kitchen, hoping to find something for breakfast.

He smiled, glad she wasn't angry with him. He decided not to mention the shower incident, hoping she would just forget it.

Sarah had already decided to forget it. In her mind, they were even now, so they could truly start fresh.

"I really need to go to the grocery store," Sarah mumbled to herself as she rummaged through her fridge. "Well, our choices for breakfast are old yogurt, an orange, or a few slices of lunch meat," she said, wrinkling her nose.

Jareth also wrinkled his nose, and without a word, he produced a crystal and tossed it onto the table. A breakfast feast magically appeared, and it looked and smelled delicious.

Sarah smiled at Jareth. "Thank you, it looks wonderful. Much better than anything I could have prepared."

"Yes, well, magic does have its moments," Jareth told her, liking the way she was smiling at him.

She was glad to see he was in a good mood. "So, I know we were supposed to talk about a lot of things last night, and it didn't exactly work out. I just want to tell you again that I'm sorry for everything, and I hope we can start again as friends."

He stared at her. _Friends_? She wanted to be friends? Had she forgotten everything he'd told her last night? He decided not to get mad, and instead told her the truth.

"I'm not willing to be just friends," he informed her, looking deep into her eyes. He saw something flicker in her eyes before she turned away. Was that relief he had seen? He decided to believe it was.

"I made it very clear what my feelings are towards you, and I'll accept nothing less than the same in return," he said as he dug into his breakfast.

"So you just expect me to return your feelings?" she asked with a warning note in her voice.

Ah, there was his old fiery Sarah, she wasn't gone she was just transformed into something more.

"No, that's not what I mean, I just want you to be able to make your feelings clear about me, as well." He was trying not to push her, but it was frustrating to know that she cared about him but not hear her say it.

Sarah looked at him for a minute, then pushed her plate away. "All right, Jareth, I'll make it perfectly clear how I feel," she said as she leaned towards him.

She held his face in her hands, and she started leaning towards his mouth, slowly, as if she was having second thoughts. Her mouth was moving closer…closer…until he could feel her lips.

"Hey guys, what smells so good?" Julie, with Bayron right behind her, burst into the apartment without knocking, as usual.

Jareth silently cursed Julie's bad timing…again.

**A/N: **thanks so much for reading! Please let me know what you think!


	9. bad timing

Ch 10

Once again, Sarah quickly pulled her head away from Jareth. She was extremely irritated at her friend for her bad timing. Well, she supposed it wasn't really Julie's fault her timing was so bad. But Sarah could at least be angry that Julie hadn't knocked, something Sarah asked her again and again to do.

Sighing, she got up to greet her guests.

"Well, hello Jareth, I see you spent the night?" Julie asked Jareth with a big grin on her face. She hated to see Sarah lonely all the time, and she was delighted that she could finally tease her about having a man stay the night.

"For God's sake, Julie, it wasn't like that. We just…talked," Sarah said quickly, trying to save herself yet more embarrassment.

But oblivious friend that she was, Julie didn't give up. "You guys look pretty tired…you must have been up awfully late last night…" she let her voice trail off suggestively.

"Jules…" Sarah's voice held a warning tone that Julie knew all too well. She knew when it was time to back off.

Sarah decided it was time to change the subject. "I certainly didn't expect to see you here so early," she said to Julie. "Did things not…work out…with you and Bayron?"

Julie laughed. "Hell, no, last night was terrific! If I look like I didn't sleep a wink it's because I didn't. Let me tell you, that man-"

"Ahem," Jareth cleared his throat, seeing the look on his friends face. Bayron wasn't the type to kiss and tell. He was a romantic, and he didn't make love to a woman he didn't feel he could love. He could see Bayron didn't appreciate where Julie was going with her conversation.

Julie looked guiltily at Bayron. "Sorry hon," she said with a dazzling smile. She realized how sensitive Bayron was, and she hoped to keep seeing him. Obviously not blurting out the details of their sex life was a key factor in doing that.

Bayron looked at Jareth. "Could we talk for a moment? In private?" He flashed a smile at Julie to let her know he wasn't upset with her.

"Sure," said Jareth, getting up from the table. He led Bayron away into the living room.

Jareth sat on the couch, Bayron across from him on an armchair. Bayron looked at Jareth expectantly. "Well?"

"Well what?" Jareth asked, knowing full well what Bayron wanted to know.

"Did you tell her you love her?"

Jareth sighed. "Of course I did. You knew I wasn't going to come here and not let her know how I feel."

Bayron heard something in his old friend's voice. "I sense there's a 'but' coming along soon."

Jareth gave a half-smile as he agreed. "Yes…_but _I'm afraid it was all for nothing. I can tell she loves me, she's all but said so, but something's keeping her from just saying it."

Bayron felt a rush of pity for his friend. For a decade now, he had heard no other woman's name pass through Jareth's lips. Never had he seen his friend like this before. He wasn't even interested in the occasional fling with a beautiful fae woman; he always claimed he only wanted Sarah. He knew how bad Jareth had it for the girl.

"Is she scared to admit she loves you?" Bayron asked, leaning forward in his chair.

Jareth sighed again. "Yes, I think so. To be honest, I wish our conversation last night had been more productive. I barely feel like we got anything accomplished."

Bayron laughed. "Hell, Jareth, you're talking about a relationship here, not a business meeting!" Jareth smiled at that. Bayron continued on a more serious note. "Did you tell her what has to happen?"

Jareth shook his head. "No, I didn't get to that part. I can't just tell her, then she might rush into something without thinking. Or at least, the old Sarah would. This Sarah seems quite a bit more cautious."

Bayron was silent, thinking about his friend's predicament. Jareth was only able to stay Aboveground for three days, and if in that time Sarah didn't profess her love for him, and mean it with every fiber of her being, he would be forced to go back to the Underground, alone. Bayron hoped that Sarah would sort out her feelings quickly, for he alone knew how desperately the Goblin King wanted her as his Queen.


	10. forgetful sister

A/N: I just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you to those of you that reviewed. It's encouraging to know someone likes this:-) I have a feeling this is gonna be a long one, so I hope you like it! I think I'm too far in to stop it even if you don't like it...so just read it anyway!

Ch 11

While Jareth and Bayron talked in the living room, Sarah asked Julie about Bayron.

"I don't know, Sar…there's something about him. I mean, come on, you know me…love 'em and leave 'em, right? But with him, well, I think I just want to love him."

Sarah nearly spit out her mouthful of orange juice. "What? Did I just hear you, of all people, admit you _love_ a man?" Oh, this was getting complicated. She was all for her friend having a good time with Bayron. But falling in love with him? It was impossible for it to work, and the worst part was, she couldn't tell Julie why. At least, not if she wanted Julie to continue thinking she was sane.

"Jules," she said carefully, "are you sure about this? I mean, I never, ever thought you would want to get serious with someone, especially after knowing him just one night. What's gotten into you?"

"You mean besides Bayron?" Julie laughed devilishly, she couldn't resist teasing Sarah, she was always so shy about sex. "Sorry. Anyways….I don't know. All I know is that there's something almost magical about Bayron, and I don't want to be with out him. He's gorgeous, for one thing, but you know what? I think he was the first guy I've brought home who actually wanted to talk to me. Not just a quick lay, then he's outta there. I mean, we actually spent a lot of time just…talking. He's amazing, Sarah." Julie looked completely happy as she thought about Bayron.

Sarah looked at the smile on Julie's face and didn't have the heart to try to talk her out of a relationship. Besides, she knew Julie had an iron will; once she made up her mind about something, there was absolutely nothing that could be done to change it. Sarah just hoped for the best.

Julie jumped up as the guys came back into the room. She planted a big kiss on Bayron's cheek and wrapped her arms around him. Sarah was happy to see that at least Byron seemed to return Julie's feelings. He looked at her with a warmth that couldn't be faked.

Jareth noticed it as well. He had been too caught up in his own troubles to inquire about Bayron's night. But he didn't need to ask; he could see how happy Sarah's friend made him. He did, however, share Sarah's worries about what would happen to their relationship. He decided, for his and Sarah's sake as well as their friends, to be completely truthful with Sarah the moment he was able to. He felt better having made that decision, and turned his attentions to Sarah.

"So, my dear, what shall we do today?" he asked, his eyes shining.

She was slightly surprised that he wanted to spend the day with her; she figured that he'd want to get back to the Underground as soon as possible. Then she remembered, he's said something about not being able to for some reason…she couldn't really remember what he's said.

"Well," she said, thinking, "we could hang out here, maybe order in some food and watch a movie. Or, we could go to the park, or go shopping, or go out and see a movie…I don't know, Jareth. We can do whatever you want to do. But what about them?"

She gestured towards the couple entwined with each other on one of her kitchen chairs.

Jareth looked at them for a second. "I don't think they care what we do, as long as we leave them alone!"

Sarah smiled, then immediately frowned. "Shit! I completely forgot, how could I forget I'm supposed to watch Toby today! What time is it? _Shit! _My parents will be here any minute to drop him off!" She frantically started running around, trying to tidy up.

"Jareth, I don't know what you'll want to do now. I don't expect you to want to hang around with me and a 10 year old." Plus, she didn't know how much, if any, of the Labyrinth Toby remembered. She had never discussed it with him, and now she was nervous about his reaction to the Goblin King in her apartment.

"Well.." as Jareth was thinking, Bayron and Julie untangled themselves from each other. "I think we're gonna head out," Julie said. "What I have planned for today is not meant for a child's eyes to see!"

Sarah rolled her eyes at her friend and saw them to the door. "Jareth, I'll be talking to you later, and I'll expect an update" Bayron called as he stepped out the door.

Sarah wondered about that statement, but was too busy straightening up to worry about it. "Jareth? What do you want to do?"

"If it's okay with you, I'd like to spend some time with Toby." Jareth had thought about it, and he decided he wanted to see how Toby had turned out. He had always had a fond spot for the little guy, and he thought it would be interesting to spend the day with him.

Sarah was still a little nervous about them meeting, but what choice did she have? "Okay, I'm glad you want to see him, but _please_, be on your best behavior. I've never talked to Toby about what happened, and I'm not sure if he remembers."

Jareth rolled his eyes at her. "Yes, mother," he teased.

Sarah threw a pillow at him, but before he could retaliate, the doorbell rang.

"Oh, and could you please change into something more...American?" she asked as she ran to the door.

He snapped his fingers as he followed Sarah to the front door, and was standing right behind her wearing blue jeans and a button down shirt, his hair neatly tied back, when she opened it to let in her father, Karen, and Toby.

"Sarah!" Toby cried happily, running into her arms for a hug. He had always felt especially close to his sister. Being a big boy of 10, he refused to let anyone hug him-except for Sarah.

"Hi Tobes!" Sarah said, returning the hug. She looked up at her parents. "Hi Dad, hi Karen."

Before they had a chance to reply, Toby had broken free from Sarah to gaze at the stranger next to her.

"Sarah, why is the Goblin King here?"


	11. a very expensive trip

Ch 12

Sarah froze at Toby's question. Without looking at her parents, she asked Toby, "What do you mean?" She stared intently into his eyes, hoping that he would understand what she was silently begging him to do.

"I, um. I just thought…he looks like someone in something I saw on TV, that's all. He looks just like him, and for a minute I thought it was him." Toby had understood what Sarah was asking him to do, and he hoped he didn't get her in trouble. His mom and dad might be mad if they knew this guy was a Goblin King.

Sarah felt relief wash through her. She laughed nervously. "Hear that, Jareth? You're a TV star!" He smiled, looking somewhat confused.

"Dad, Karen, this is my friend Jareth, he dropped by just a little bit ago, he'll probably spend some time with us today." Sarah carefully examined her parents' faces. Luckily, they seemed to be in too much of a hurry to dwell on the scene with Toby and Jareth.

"Nice to meet you Jareth," her father said hurriedly. "I'm sorry we're rushing, sweetie, but we're running a bit behind schedule, I would have dropped Toby off earlier but I didn't want to wake you." Sarah opened her mouth to tell her father she had been up early, but before she could reply, he rushed on. "We'll be gone most of the afternoon, we'll be back probably around 4, so be ready for us then, okay? Thanks, honey."

"We appreciate it, Sarah," Karen smiled at her. She and Sarah had long ago mended their relationship, and Karen was more like a mother to her than her real mom had been.

Her father and Karen hurried down the hall, and Sarah closed the door. She turned around to see Toby and Jareth looking at each other warily.

"Sarah?" Toby asked, and Sarah understood everything he was asking. She sighed. This was going to be a long afternoon.

She exchanged a glance with Jareth, silently asking him to give her some time alone with Toby. Jareth understood, and he headed into the kitchen.

"Tobes, how do you know the Goblin King?" Sarah decided it would be better to find out what Toby remembered, rather than fill his head with new information.

Toby looked puzzled. "I don't really know. I didn't know him until I saw him, but when I did, I knew he was the Goblin King." He scrunched up his face, as faint memories came back to him. "He was nice to me. He played with me and sang songs. He's nice. But…"

"But what, Toby," she prodded gently.

He looked at her. "Why was I there? How did that happen?" He sensed his sister's hesitation to talk about the Goblin King. " I'm not a baby anymore, Sarah, you can tell me."

She sighed. She was extremely grateful to Jareth for keeping Toby happy during his brief stay. But how could she tell her little brother that she hadn't wanted him, and that she'd asked Jareth to take him away?

Toby was smart, and he was persistent. He wouldn't let this go. Once he got an idea in his head, he clung to it as if for dear life.

"Okay, Tobes, come sit with me on the couch and I'll tell you the whole story." His eyes lit up and he ran to join her on the couch. Sarah proceeded to tell Toby the entire story. She tried not to leave out any details. He was her brother, and he deserved to know the truth, so she gave it to him no matter how worried about the consequences she was.

A long while later, Toby sat in silence, trying to digest the story that had just been told to him. He was still young enough to play make-believe, but he was also old enough to try to act grown-up, too. Sarah could see him struggling to decide if he wanted to believe the tale. Finally, he looked up at her and said, "That's awesome!"

Sarah laughed in relief. "Well, I'm glad you think so. You're old enough to understand, and after all, it was part of your childhood. You deserve to know. And I'm glad you finally do, because I've always wanted to tell you how sorry I am for wishing you away. I'm glad I met the friends I did, but I always felt guilty about it. I'm glad you're my brother," she finished, ruffling his soft blond hair.

Toby squirmed away. "It's okay, Sarah. I've wanted to wish you away sometimes too!" Sarah laughed and gave him a hug. "So why's the Goblin King here now?"

"Well..." Sarah slowly replied, "even thoughI defeated him, we've remained friends, and he just came here so we can get to know each other better." She figured that was as good an explanation as any, and Toby accepted it without questions.

Toby gave her a big smile. "So when can I see the Labyrinth? I wanna meet Hoggle and Ludo and Sir Didymus and everyone else you met! Can we go? Can we? Pleeeease, Sarah, can we go?"

He was practically bouncing with excitement, and Sarah felt horrible as she said, "No, Tobe, I don't think we can go there to visit."

"I don't know about that," they heard someone say. Sarah was a little startled; she had almost forgotten about Jareth hiding in her kitchen.

"Toby, go play in my room for a minute, I have to talk to Jareth, I mean, the Goblin King, for a minute." Sarah didn't want Jareth to get Toby's hopes up until she knew every detail about how they could visit.

"Aww, Sarah," Toby whined, but, seeing the look on his sister's face, he quickly agreed. "But can I at least talk to the Goblin King when you're done?"

"Toby, you can call me Jareth, and I'd be delighted to talk with you as soon as I've finished with your sister." Jareth smiled at the boy, and Toby smiled back before running off to Sarah's room.

Sarah waited until she heard the door close before she began talking.

"What do you mean, we can visit the Labyrinth?" Sarah asked him, shooting him a glare as well. She would be furious if he got Toby's hopes up.

He ignored her glare as he said, "I mean just that. There is a way to make it possible for Toby to visit the Labyrinth."

"A way? What is it?" Sarah asked suspiciously. She was all too aware of how tricky the rules in the Labyrinth could be, and she had a hunch that people couldn't just pop in for a visit.

"Sarah, maybe you'd better sit down, this could be a long discussion," he suggested, taking a seat on the couch. Groaning, she sat next to him, knowing that she wouldn't like this if he insisted she sit down.

Jareth let himself be pleased for a moment that Sarah had chosen to sit next to him, then his thoughts turned to what he had to tell her.

"The Underground is filled with immortals, Sarah, it's rare to see a human. Although mortals are not unwelcome, the Labyrinth has always preferred to have those born immortal living in it. Now, humans that come to the Underground become immortal too-the moment you enter, you cease to age. But despite that, the Labyrinth prefers immortal blood. As I said, humans are not unwelcome, but it is very difficult for a human to visit the Underground. The main reason humans come there is because they've wished someone away, and the Labyrinth prefers it that way. The Labyrinth doesn't really want mortals dropping by for a vist, they don't really understand the Labyrinth, and they could ruin it. Therefore, the conditions for a visit are extremely difficult to have in place. If Toby really wishes to visit, it _is _possible, but rather complicated." He paused, unsure of how to go on.

"Go on, Jareth, it can't be that bad. I think I'd do anything to allow Toby to visit. He's not going to let go of this idea, and especially now that he knows what I did to him back then, I really want to make it up to him. Really, Jareth, just tell me, I'll do it." He knew that she would do anything for her brother, and that was what made this next part hard.

"Sarah…the only way a mortal can visit the Underground is if they are a direct family member of someone of nobility who resides in the Labyrinth." He paused, waiting for his words to sink in. "Since humans rarely live in the Labyrinth, you can see how hard it would be to have a human visit another human in the Labyrinth, who happened to be noblility. It's actually very unheard of."

Confusion was written on Sarah's face. "But, then it's impossible for Toby to visit, he's not related to any kings or queens or anything…" she stopped as understanding dawned on her face.

Jareth spoke softly to her. "Sarah, my dear, the only way your brother can visit the Underground is if you become my Queen."


	12. it all comes out

Ch. 13

For the first time in her life, Sarah was utterly speechless. She couldn't believe what she had just heard.

Jareth watched her warily. He decided to let her sort through her thoughts and let her speak first.

Her head was spinning with the events of her life in the last 24 hours. Less than that even, and she'd had enough surprises and excitement to last her the rest of her life.

Which could be forever, if she agreed to the offer Jareth was proposing. Wait. In order to be his Queen, she'd have to…marry him. _Marry him?_ This was too much for Sarah.

Eyes flashing, she looked at Jareth, and he didn't like the look one bit.

"That's crazy! Just crazy! I would have to marry you! _Marriage! _My God, do you understand what that means? I would have to marry you and become a queen of goblins, just so my little brother can visit a fantasy land that he didn't know about until fifteen minutes ago. Shit, Jareth, I can't deal with all this. I thought it was complicated when you showed up again after ten years, but then it just kept getting more and more complicated. Your best friend, who I assume it's safe to say is also an immortal fairy person,is shacking up with my best friend, the most down to earth person I know, someone who would send all of us to the looney bin if we tried to tell her what her boyfriend is. And it's too much to try to figure out the feelings I've got floating around. God, I've known you less than two days, then you show up out of nowhere and tell me you love me? Why wait ten years, huh? If you loved me so much, why did you wait so long?" By now, tears were streaming down Sarah's face, but she was far from finished. It felt too good to get everything off her chest.

"My poor little brother just finds out that he had a childhood he didn't even know about, in a place filled with goblins, which he came very close to turning into, I might add. And he finds out that his sister, who he loves to death, didn't want him. And he accepts it! Just like that! And all he wants in return it to visit the Labyrinth. Ha, easier said than done! I would do anything for that boy, anything, and you know it. This is just too much, though. I was having a hard enough time dealing with this, trying to act like it's normal to have the Goblin King sleeping on my couch. Well it's not normal! Far from it! How am I supposed to deal with this? I outgrew my fantasy world ages ago, and now it's back, thrown in my face. Well you know what? I don't want it, and I don't want to deal with this anymore right now." With that, she fled to her room, crying.

Jareth sat back in shock, trying to absorb all that he's just heard. He didn't blame Sarah for her outburst. He knew it was coming, especially with the conditions for Toby's visit thrown in. He laid his head in his hands, sighing. This was such a mess. All he'd wanted was to come here, tell Sarah he loved her, hear her say she loved him back, and then take her to the Underground to be his Queen. He would cherish her, and she wouldn't want for anything. But he was beginning to feel that it was hopeless. Every time they talked, they seemed to end up farther apart, not closer together.

_Sarah, _he thought_. Forgive me for all of this. I'm only here because I love you. All I want is for you to love me back._

He was still sitting on the couch brooding when he heard a timid voice. "Mr. Jareth?" Toby asked.

Jareth looked up and smiled at Toby. "It's just Jareth."

"Jareth, then." Toby plopped next to Jareth on the couch. "Why's Sarah sad?"

Jareth closed his eyes for a second. How to explain this to a ten year old boy? He couldn't. "It's a very long story, Toby. I'm sure she'll talk to you about it when she's ready," he said, hoping it would be true.

"Are you her boyfriend," Toby asked with the bluntness only children can get away with.

Jareth decided to be truthful with the boy, and said, "I hope so." Toby smiled at that, he thought Jareth was cool, and that his sister finally picked a good boyfriend.

"Well, are we gonna visit the Labyrinth?" Jareth saw the hope in the boys eyes and had to look away. "I don't know, Toby. It's a very complicated situation, and I'm afraid it would be difficult to explain it all to you, I'm sorry."

Toby looked like he wanted to push it farther, but he didn't. Instead, he looked up at Jareth with shining eyes. "Can you tell me all about the Labyrinth?"

Jareth smiled and settled in for an afternoon of stories.


	13. calm after the storm

Ch 14

Sarah cautiously emerged from her room. She felt like a complete fool. She couldn't believe she had gone off on Jareth that way. Since she was feeling much calmer now, she couldn't help but realize he'd done nothing wrong. Again, he'd only been trying to help, and all she could do was yell at him. Ruefully, she thought maybe she hadn't grown up that much after all. But she'd done a lot of thinking, and she thought she had her feelings sorted out. The first thing she wanted to do was apologize to Jareth.

She hadn't stayed in her room long; she was a little worried about Toby. As she approached the living room, she heard Jareth and Toby talking. Jareth was trying to explain to Toby why pretty little fairies were so mean. Sarah smiled, eternally grateful to Jareth for being so good with Toby.

Quietly, she headed to the kitchen to make them some lunch. When she opened the refrigerator, she gasped. It was absolutely stuffed with food! Jareth must have done it while he was waiting in the kitchen, as she talked to Toby. She smiled as she pulled out the ingredients for sandwiches. Just another reason to love Jareth.

She paused at the thought. Yes, she did love him. She knew it. She had loved him for ten years. Who cares how screwed up their current relationship was? Who cares that he was the Goblin King, from another world? Who cares that she barely knew him? Not her. She decided that it didn't matter, that she would finally follow her heart.

"About damn time, too," she muttered to herself as she prepared the sandwiches.

"Time for what?" Jareth asked, coming up behind her. She let out a little shriek of surprise, and turned around and hit him with a loaf of bread. "That's for scaring me!" she admonished, her eyes sparkling with good humor.

He grabbed the bread away from her, and threatened to whack her over the head with it. Well, he thought, it seemed her time in her room had done a world of good. She didn't even seem the least bit upset at him.

As if reading his mind, she said, "I'm sorry Jareth. I had no right to yell at you. Once again, you did nothing wrong but I still took my feelings out on you. So, I'm sorry. Oh, and by the way, I love you." She smiled at him. He dropped the loaf of bread and almost fell into a chair.

"What did you just say?" he asked, not able to believe what he'd heard.

"I was telling you how sorry I am for yelling at you," she replied, trying to keep in her smile.

"No, not that…I mean, what did you say after that?" He held his breath waiting for the answer.

"Oh, you must mean the part where I said I love you," she said matter of factly.

He slowly shook his head, unable to believe that after all that had happened, after how angry she'd been, she was suddenly telling him she loved him. He just couldn't believe it.

"What-how did you…" he stuttered.

"Why are you still sitting in that chair? This is the part where you're supposed tokiss me," she smiled at him expectantly.

That snapped him out of his stupor, and he was on his feet so fast he almost fell back down. Sarah was laughing as he took her in his arms.

"Darling Sarah, I've waited so long for you to say those words," he whispered as he leaned in for their lips to touch.

"Ew, gross! What are you guys doing?" Toby yelled, running into the kitchen.

Jareth had to stifle a groan. Not again! It was so frustrating, it was almost funny.

Sarah must have agreed, because she and Jareth just looked at each other and laughed.

**A/N: **I have a lot of this story written, so it's gonna be gettng posted for a long time...please leave me a review and tell me what you think! thanks for reading!


	14. finally alone

Ch. 15

Toby decided to ignore what he knew Sarah and Jareth were about to do. He didn't understand grown-ups; kissing was gross! "I'm hungry!" he said, "what's for lunch?"

Sarah and Jareth had reluctantly pulled apart, but not before Jareth whispered in her ear, "This will definitely be continued tonight." Sarah felt a shiver of anticipation. She loved her brother, but suddenly she found herself counting the hours until her parents picked him up.

"We're having sandwiches, Tobe, sit down and it'll be ready in a sec," she told her brother as she turned her attention back to making lunch. She picked up a slice of bread and wasn't surprised to see her hand shaking. Jareth had a major effect on her; she already wanted his arms around her again. God, if it was this bad already, how would she feel when they finally kissed? Or more?

She blushed a little bit at her thoughts, remembering all the fantasies she'd had about Jareth. It was strange, and very exciting, to realize that they could now come true.

Sarah quickly finished making lunch, and she set a plate of sandwiches on the table, along with a pitcher of Kool-Aid. Toby dove in hungrily, but Sarah and Jareth seemed to have lost their appetites.

Toby swallowed a big bite of sandwich. He didn't understand why Sarah and Jareth just kept looking at each other like that. Grown ups were so weird sometimes!

"So did you talk about me visiting the Labyrinth?" he asked, trying to contain his excitement. He knew that, for some reason, this was a touchy subject, and he didn't want Sarah getting mad at him.

Jareth glanced at Sarah, unsure how she felt about this. At least, now he was unsure; earlier she'd made her feelings perfectly clear. But now that she'd said she loved him, he didn't know how she would respond to her brother.

She barely hesitated. "Well Tobes, I can't promise anything, so don't get your hopes up too high. But…I think there's a very good chance you'll get to visit."

Jareth was too stunned to hear Toby's cries of excitement. Had Sarah just agreed to marry him? No, not exactly….but pretty damn close. He felt a rush of happiness so great, it made him want to dance around and yell with Toby. He looked at Sarah, to see her smiling at him, her heart in her eyes. He smiled back, hoping she could see the love in his eyes. He felt a flutter of nervousness in the pit of his stomach.

_There's still so much she doesn't know, _he thought_. I don't want to hurt her, I hope she'll understand_.

Sarah saw the change in Jareth's expression. She frowned and asked, "What's the matter? Should I not have said anything?" She looked worried, and Jareth rushed to reassure her. "No, my love, it's not that. There's just so much we still need to talk about, that's all."

Sarah could tell he was holding something back, but she let it go for the moment. "You're right, we do need to talk. I have so many questions, I think we'll be up all night."

_If we're up all night, it won't be to talk, _he thought to himself, and he was immediately smacked on the arm.

"Jareth, don't say things like that in front of Toby," Sarah hissed at him. Jareth was slightly embarrassed; he hadn't realized he'd spoken the thought out loud. Luckily Toby didn't seem to have heard. His lunch finished, he was busy listing everything he wanted to do in the Labyrinth, too excited to care no one was really listening.

"Sorry, my love," Jareth whispered to Sarah. She smiled at him; it made her feel good that Jareth wanted her, and it seemed like he wanted her as much as she wanted him.

All three of them were startled when the doorbell rang. "I don't know who that could be," Sarah said as she went to answer the door. She was surprised to see her parents standing in front of her. "Dad, Karen, what are you doing back so early? Is everything okay?" she asked, letting them in the door.

Her father gave her a kiss on the cheek, and replied, "Yes, everything's fine, it's just that we had a late lunch planned with another couple and they cancelled at the last minute. Karen and I have been so busy lately, we haven't spent a lot of time with Toby, so we just came back here early to see if he wanted to go see a movie with us." He smiled at his son as Toby ran into the room.

"How about it Tobes, you feel like spending a little quality time with your folks?" he asked Toby.

They all watched as Toby scrunched up his face. As much as he wanted to hang out with Jareth today, he did miss his parents, so he agreed to leave early and go to a movie.

"But only," he said seriously to Sarah and Jareth, "only if you guys promise that I can come over another time." Sarah smiled at her brother, saying "Of course you can come back, and I promise Jareth will be here the next time you come, okay?"

"Okay." Toby grinned at his sister, then gave her a big hug. "And decide soon about…well, you know…" he tried to be discreet in front of their parents.

"Don't worry, Tobes, I'll let you know very soon," Sarah said as she hugged her brother back.

"Thanks again Sarah," Karen told her as they stepped out the door. "And Jareth," she said to him, "you and Sarah will have to stop by for dinner sometime." Karen was smiling. Jareth had not been introduced as Sarah's boyfriend, but it was obvious from the way they looked at each other that they were in love.

"Thank you, Mrs. Williams, I appreciate it. We'll do that." Jareth said, looking at Sarah. She nodded. "Just let us know when, and we'll stop by," she told her parents.

They said their goodbyes, and Sarah received one more hug from Toby, and then they were gone. Sarah shut the door and turned around, only to see Jareth inches away from her. Finally, they were alone.


	15. Q&A time

Ch 16

Jareth didn't waste another second. He pulled Sarah into his arms and whispered, "I love you." She didn't have a chance to respond before their lips met in a soft kiss. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer to her, deepening the kiss. She felt electric tingles all through her body, and pressed herself even closer to him, as her lips parted slightly and Jareth's tongue caressed hers. She moaned softly, as an unbelievable wave of desire swept over her. She clung to him tightly, not letting their lips part for even a second.

Jareth was the one who finally broke away. He looked into her eyes and saw the desire there, and damned if he didn't want to take her then and there. He knew she was willing, and there was nothing he wanted more than to make love to her. But he'd waited too long for this moment, he'd waited too long for Sarah to love him, and he didn't want to rush this.

Sarah was slightly disappointed he'd pulled away, but she was relieved too. She would have let him do anything he wanted to her, and although she was caught up in the moment, although she loved him, she wasn't quite ready to move that fast. There was still too much she had yet to learn about him.

Jareth's arms were still around her, and he hugged her tightly, running his fingers through her hair. She turned her face up to his, and gave him a gentle kiss before pulling away. As much as she longed to just stay in his arms, there was too much to talk about.

"Come here," she said, leading him to the couch. They sat down facing each other, and Jareth gave her another kiss before she continued. "Jareth…I love you. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it, or maybe I always realized it and I was too scared to admit it. Either way, I'm glad I was able to finally tell you how I feel." He smiled at her, he thought that no matter how many times she said she loved him, he would always feel a thrill of happiness when she did.

"So now we know that we love each other," she went on. "What next? I mean, how is this going to work? Part of me feels like I'm rushing into this, but another part of me knows it's right. Plus, there are so many things I want to know…"

"Okay, we'll start there," Jareth said. "Tell me what you want to know, and I'll do my best to answer your questions." He felt a little nervous. He loved her, and she deserved to know the truth about everything, but he just didn't want any truths to hurt her, and he had a feeling they would.

"Well," Sarah started, unsure what to ask now that she finally had her chance, "I've always been curious about your life, Jareth. How old are you? What were your parents like? Do you have brothers or sisters?"

"Truthfully Sarah, I don't know how old I am." Seeing her surprise, he said, "I'm immortal, love, I've lived for many centuries. After so long, it seems pointless to keep track of how many years I've been alive."

"But weren't you ever a child?" she asked curiously.

"Yes, I was a child once, every immortal was. But after a certain point, we simply cease to age. I guess, in your years, I'd be in my mid-thirties. But my age just doesn't matter in the Underground. There are certain races that stop aging at an earlier time, and those that stop aging at a later time. So even though you'll see both youth and age in the Underground, for the most part, we're all immortal."

Sarah couldn't imagine what it felt like to have been alive for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. What would it feel like to know you were going to live forever? She realized that if she did marry Jareth, she would become immortal as well. It was scary, but also interesting. She couldn't dwell on it too long, there were too many other questions she had.

"So what about your parents?" she asked him, snuggling up close to him.

He liked her being this close to him, and he kissed the top of her head before answering. "My parents are alive and well. After my father passed on the throne to me, they retired, I guess you could say, and now they live peacefully in the country, not too far away from the Goblin Kingdom. And I was an only child, which made it rather boring growing up in the castle. But my parents' best friends had a son just my age, and we've been friends since childhood."

"Bayron?" Sarah asked. "Yes," Jareth replied, "Bayron is like a brother to me. I have never met another who is as loyal a friend as he."

The mention of Bayron led Sarah to wonder about Julie. "Jareth, what's going to happen with him and Julie? I know she is falling in love with him, and I can tell he cares for her, but how could it work? Julie would never believe he's an immortal from a place called the Underground." It actually made Sarah want to laugh, thinking about how crazy it would seem to her friend.

Jareth sighed. "Well, I know Bayron wants to continue seeing Julie, and as it's impossible for him to stay Aboveground for much longer, I'm afraid their relationship will depend on her. If Bayron wants to be with her, he'll have to tell her the truth."

Sarah grimaced, thinking that it was sad that Julie had finally found someone to love, and it could end in heartache- and Julie thinking they all were crazy!

"Don't worry, Sarah, Bayron has ways to show her the truth. It just depends on her willingness to accept it."

"For their sake, I truly hope she does," Sarah said. "Anyway, I don't want to dwell on them too much, because I can think of hundreds of questions just to ask you about Bayron, but there's so much else I need to know."

"Well, ask away, love, we have all night to talk," Jareth replied. Sarah spent the next few hours asking Jareth questions about his kingdom, life in the Labyrinth, and anything else that popped into her heard. She especially wanted details on how her friends were doing, since she felt guilty about not calling on them in so long.

Finally, Sarah looked at Jareth with serious eyes. "There's one last thing that's always bothered me, and I have to know the answer."

Jareth raised his eyebrows, and told her go on.

Sarah took a deep breath. "Would you really have turned Toby into a goblin if I'd lost the Labyrinth?"

"Most definitely not," she was surprised to hear. "Sarah, you've seen those goblins. They're just stupid, smelly creatures who are only good at making a mess. Why on earth would I want to create another one? I have never turned a child into a goblin." He looked pained at the mere thought.

Sarah couldn't believe it. "Then what do you do with all the children you take?" Instantly, she could see she'd chosen the wrong words.

"I don't 'take' children, Sarah," he said. He was going to say more, but Sarah stopped him. "Shh, I know, I know, I used a bad choice of words. How about this: what happens to the children who are wished away to the goblins, and are never rescued?"

"I give them to couples who are unable to have children. However, Toby was an exceptionally bright and happy child, and I had entertained thoughts of keeping him for myself, and raising him as my son."

Sarah was quiet for a moment. "Well, it makes me feel better about being a Goblin Queen knowing I won't have any part in turning children into goblins."

It took a second for her words to register in Jareth's mind. "What? You-you want to be the Goblin Queen? You mean, you want to marry me?" Jareth was so happy, he picked Sarah up off the couch and twirled her around. He gave her a big kiss. "Do you really mean it?"

"Well…that depends," Sarah replied.

"On what?" Jareth held his breath, waiting for her reply.


	16. so close to being happy

Ch 17

Jareth had no idea what Sarah wanted, and he was expecting the worst when he heard her say, "It depends on whether or not I get a real proposal." She was smiling at how worried he looked.

He sighed in relief. "Is that all? Yes, I'm sure you'll get a real proposal. Do you think I haven't been planning how I was going to propose to you for the last ten years?"

She grinned, "So I take it I can expect something special?"

Jareth hugged her. "Sarah, by now you'd think you know better than to simply expect anything!" He kissed her to let her know he was teasing. "But yes, expect something special. I won't talk about it anymore because I want it to be somewhat of a surprise."

"Well, make it soon, because until it happens, I'm not officially your fiancée!" Sarah almost wanted to say, to hell with a proposal. She wanted to marry Jareth more than anything, but for some reason part of her needed to hear Jareth propose. Everything so far was happening so fast, and was so unreal. But a proposal was normal, and it was romantic; it would make all of this somehow seem more real.

She smiled at him. "I love you."

He couldn't resist kissing her again before answering. "I have always loved you."

They sat back down on the couch. Sarah lay down with her head in Jareth's lap, and he slowly stroked her face. They were each happily lost in their own thoughts when they were startled by loud pounding on the front door.

"Good lord, it never stops," Sarah grumbled as she reluctantly got up to answer the door.

"Who's there?" she called as she walked to the door. "It's me and Bayron!" Sarah was surprised to hear Julie's voice. She pulled open the door. "What are you doing knocking? I don't think that's ever happened before!"

Julie laughed. "Well, some of Bayron's good manners might be rubbing off on me. When we left earlier Bayron lectured me about how rude it is to barge into someone's apartment." While she talked, she looked at Bayron adoringly. "Anyway, is Toby still here? I would have called before coming but my cell phone's dead."

"Nope, Toby left awhile ago," Sarah replied as they headed into the living room.

Julie was surprised to see Sarah sit down right next to Jareth on the couch and snuggle up to him. She was even more surprised when he gave her a kiss, and she didn't push him away.

"Okay, what the hell's going on here? Sarah, are you really sitting there making out with a guy you met at a bar last night?" Julie couldn't keep the disbelief out of her voice.

"Hmmm" Sarah replied, "Let's see, who's the pot calling the kettle black?" Julie laughed and agreed. "Yeah, I know, look at me, that's happened more times than I care to admit! But, it's just so unlike you…I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it."

"Yeah, well, you don't know the half of it." Sarah debated how much to tell Julie. Finally she decided on the truth-or at least, some of the truth. "Come into my room for a little bit, Jules, so we can talk." She kissed Jareth and stood up, leading Julie down the hall.

"Wow, this must be good!" Julie grinned as she sat down on Sarah's bed. "So come on, spill everything."

_Oh, I wish I could, _Sarah thought. Out loud, she said, "Well, the truth is, I met Jareth once before, a long time ago, when I was fifteen, and at first I hated him. We only spent a short time together back then, but by the time I had to leave him, my feelings had changed. And over the years, I guess he's always been in the back of my mind, stopping me from loving any other guy."

Julie cut her of. "Wait, so you're saying you love this guy?" Her eyes were wide.

Sarah paused for a second, then blurted out, "Yes, I do, I love him so much, and he loves me, and we're going to get married!"

Julie shrieked, "Oh my God, did you just say what I thought you said? Holy shit Sar, you're gonna _marry _this guy?" Sarah looked at her friend and saw only joy in her face. Sarah smiled gratefully; Julie was the queen of rash decisions, and she should have known Julie wouldn't lecture her.

Sarah couldn't contain her excitement. "Yes, yes, we're going to get married. Well, it's not technically official yet. I mean, we talked about it and he wants me to marry him and I told him I want to get married, but he hasn't officially proposed yet. But he will, and I'll say yes, and I love him so much!"

Julie felt tears unexpectedly spring to her eyes. "Damn it Sarah, you're making me cry. I'm so happy for you! I can't believe this, it's so exciting." She reached over and gave her friend a big hug.

Sarah hugged her back, feeling horribly guilty that she was holding so much back from Julie. But she just couldn't tell her the truth about Jareth, and Bayron, not yet.

The women pulled apart, and Julie immediately started chattering on about wedding gowns and hairstyles and flowers, and Sarah let herself be caught up in the excitement, deciding to forget for the moment that this was not by any means going to be an ordinary wedding.

In the living room, Jareth and Bayron were deep in conversation. Bayron had decided to tell Julie the truth tonight, and he was scared to death.

"It's not that I'm afraid she won't believe me, because you know I can show her proof. But, what if she gets so freaked out that she never wants to see me again? I don't think I would handle that very well." Bayron looked at his friend with sadness in his eyes.

Jareth sighed. "Well, my friend, you just need to have faith in her. If she is as wonderful as you've told me, and if she loves you as much as you suspect she does, then perhaps it will all work out." He felt badly for Bayron; he knew the fear of rejection all too well.

"I know," Bayron said with a small smile. "I'm sure that she loves me, and hopefully that will be enough to pull us through this." He didn't want to think about it anymore at the moment, and he turned his attention to Jareth.

"You're very lucky that you didn't meet Sarah under false pretenses. She knows exactly who and what you are, and she still loves you. I actually envy you," Bayron told him.

Jareth frowned, thinking of what he hadn't yet told Sarah. "I don't know if you should envy my situation. Sarah wants to marry me-I admit I'm extremely lucky she loves me. However, I haven't told her the whole story yet…" his voice trailed off meaningfully, and Bayron's eyes widened in shock.

"You didn't tell her about Merelinda?" Bayron asked in disbelief.

At that moment, Sarah was heading back towards the living room. She reached the doorway just in time to hear Bayron exclaim, "You mean she doesn't know that you're already engaged to another woman?"


	17. heartbreak

Ch 18

Sarah froze. She closed her eyes and prayed that she hadn't just heard that. But she had. Bayron's voice rang loud and clear in her head. _"She doesn't know you're already engaged to another woman?" _Sarah couldn't move, she almost felt like she couldn't breathe. She felt hot all over, and her heartseened like it had been pierced by a thousand daggers. _Oh God, that can't be true, please don't let it be true. _She was unaware of the tears streaming down her face as she slowly entered the living room.

Jareth and Bayron looked over at her as she entered, and Jareth's eyes widened in horror. By the tears in her eyes and the look on her face, he knew she had heard. He jumped up and ran to her, trying to embrace her. "Oh, Sarah, my love, please listen, let me explain, I-"

Sarah cut him off as she pushed him away. "Please don't, don't try to make any excuses. I heard it loud and clear. You're already engaged to someone else Jareth, you already promised to marry someone else." She struggled to keep her composure. "My God Jareth, I'm a fool. I'm a fool for trusting you. I just can't believe this is happening." She sat down heavily on the couch and stared into space.

Julie had come in the room as Sarah was talking, and she gave Jareth a death look. "You son of a bitch, I could kill you for hurting her. And you," she said, turning her glare to Bayron, "don't tell me you didn't know about this. I should kick your ass too." Julie rushed over to Sarah and put her arm around her, trying to comfort her. Julie looked up at Jareth and Bayron and said icily, "You assholes are free to leave now."

Jareth couldn't bear to leave her like this, he had to explain everything to her, he couldn't just let it end like this. _Damn it, I knew I would end up hurting her._

"Sarah," he said pleadingly. "Please, let me-"

"No," Sarah said emotionlessly. "Just go. Please, all of you, I just want to be alone. You too, Julie, I'm sorry but I just need to be left alone."

Julie didn't question Sarah, and she stood up to leave. "Call me later if you feel like talking, honey," she said softly to Sarah. Sarah gave her friend a small, unhappy smile. "Thanks."

Julie glared at Jareth and Bayron, saying, "You heard her, get out of here." To Bayron, she added, "I'm going home, and I'd rather you didn't come with me."

"No Julie wait, this isn't my fault, don't be angry with me," Bayron pleaded to Julie. As much as he sympathized with Jareth, he couldn't help being mad at him; if he had just told Sarah the truth to begin with, this wouldn't be happening. He couldn't stand having Julie angry at him.

Julie had been stalking towards the door, and she twirled angrily to look at Bayron. "Not be angry with you? Sarah's my best friend, you know that, and you let that asshole hurt her," she said, gesturing to Jareth. Jareth had been standing there, practically is a state of shock at what was happening, but Julie's words revived him.

"You dare call me names? You don't know the whole story, so I suggest you mind your own damn business," he said nastily.

"Oh, you have a lot of nerve-" Julie was cut off by a shout.

"All of you, get the hell out of my house right now! I can't stand this, I just want you all out of here, _now!" _Sarah had stood up and had her hands tangled in hair on either side of her head. She was so angry she was about to pull it all out. "I mean it, get the hell out, now!"

She looked so furious that, without thinking, Bayron snapped his fingers and transported himself, Julie and Jareth to Julie's apartment.

Sarah looked at her living room, startled that they had disappeared so quickly. When she was sure they had gone, she sank back onto the couch, and with her head in her hands, she began to sob uncontrollably.


	18. it all comes outagain

Ch 19

Julie was so stunned to find herself suddenly back in her apartment that she momentarily forgot to be mad at Bayron.

"What the hell just happened?" she demanded, sitting down heavily on her couch; she felt slightly dizzy.

Bayron had been cursing himself since the moment he snapped his fingers. What the hell had he been thinking, using his magic like that? How was he supposed to explain this to Julie? It would be even harder now that she apparently hated him.

He cursed again under his breath. "Damn." He looked over at Julie. She was sitting there with a puzzled look on her face, waiting for an explanation. "Julie, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that, I promise I'll explain everything. Please, don't freak out, just let me explain.

With that, he grabbed Julie by the hand, and she allowed herself to be led down the hall to her room, still too stunned to stop him.

"Good luck, my friend," Jareth softly said to his friend's back. He grimaced as he thought of the mess he'd gotten himself, and his best friend, into. "Damn it, it wasn't supposed to be this way."

He sat on the sofa and laid his head on the back, staring up at the ceiling. He didn't have a clue how to fix this. He didn't even know if it could be fixed. How could he have let things get so far with Sarah without telling her about Merelinda?

Merelinda. He smiled as he thought of his other childhood friend. One who, unfortunately, he had failed to mention to Sarah. Yes, it was true that he and Merelinda were engaged. But he didn't love her. He had never loved her; she felt like a sister to him, and he knew she felt the same way. Their engagement was in name only. Merelinda didn't want to marry him any more than he wanted to marry her. But the rules of Merelinda's kingdom were strange. She was forbidden from taking the throne and becoming Queen of the Merfolk unless she was married, or engaged to be married. It was a requirement upon taking the throne, but once she was crowned Queen, it no longer mattered.

Jareth sighed. The Merfolk had many, many rules, some of which were easily bypassed, but not this one. The last thing Merelinda wanted was to be married, but she desperately wanted to be Queen, and she had pleaded with Jareth more than a century ago to agree to be her fiancé until she took the throne. Her father was passing along the throne to her after his required five hundred years of ruling were finished. She would be Queen in less than a month, and then her and Jareth's engagement could officially be called off.

"Damn the Merfolk and their screwed up rules," he cursed. Why had he ever agreed to the engagement? Because, he answered himself, a century ago you had no idea Sarah Williams would have stolen your heart. There was no way he could go back on his word to Merelinda now, not after over a hundred years of being her "fiancé." Especially not when their engagement was so close to being over.

How could he make Sarah believe he loved only her, that he had no intention of marrying Merelinda? He closed his eyes and despairingly thought about how hopeless it seemed.

He was snapped out of his reverie some time later by Julie. "Jareth," she said softly, not sure if he was sleeping or not.

"Yes?" he answered without opening his eyes. He was too drained to fight with anyone.

"Jareth, I just want to apologize for yelling at you," she said, sitting down on a loveseat across from him. "Bayron just explained everything to me, and I understand you weren't intentionally trying to hurt Sarah."

Jareth hadn't been expecting an apology, and he was thankful she wasn't angry. "Thank you," he said gratefully. He took a closer look at her face; she looked pale, and he could tell she had been crying. "Are you okay?" he asked with concern. He realized she had just recieived the shock of her life.

Julie gave him a wobbly smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Bayron and I talked for a long time, and he told me, well, everything. What choice do I have but to believe it?" Part of her did have trouble believing her boyfriend was an immortal prince from a fantasy land call the Underground, but the tale he told her was too amazing to be made up. And there was that whole snap-your-fingers-and-poof-you're-gone deal. It was pretty hard to argue with something she had witnessed firsthand. All in all, she was actually pretty amazed at herself for taking it so well.

"Bayron's sleeping, I think this was harder on him than it was on me," she said with a grin.

"Are you still going to see him?" Jareth asked curiously.

Julie answered without hesitation. "Hell, yeah, he's the first man I've ever loved. I don't care what he is, or where he's from, I want to be with him." She was sure of her decision; she'd thought long and hard about it, and she knew she loved him no matter what. She was sure that when the time came for Bayron to go back home, she would be going with him.

Jareth was glad she took everything so well, and he was happy that everything seemed to be working out for his friend. At least one good thing was coming out of this whole mess.

"Bayron told me about Merelinda, Jareth, and I just want you to know that I understand. I think it's a wonderful thing to do for your friend, and it shows that you're loyal to those you care about."

Jareth was glad to have her support, and he asked her, "So how do I get Sarah to understand?" Somehow, he knew she wouldn't be willing to talk to him, and he was afraid he would have to go back to the Underground before getting another chance to talk to her.

Julie frowned. "Well, that's not gonna be so easy. You know Sarah, she can be as stubborn as a mule, and I don't think you can force her to talk to you."

Jareth wanted to ask Julie to talk to her for him, but he didn't. This was something he had to do himself. "I know she won't listen to me, and I feel so awful about hurting her, this was the last thing I wanted. I should have just told her the truth right away." He looked like he wanted to cry, and Julie's heart went out to him.

"I'm sorry Jareth, I wish there was something I could do," she said sympathetically. She was hurting for them. She knew that they loved each other, but she also knew that Sarah had had her heart broken too many times to count. She could only hope that Jareth would be able to make things right. If anyone deserved a happy ending, it was Sarah.

Jareth was deep in thought, and suddenly he had an idea. He hoped for his heart's sake and Sarah's that it would work.


	19. a helpful crystal

Ch 20

It was hours later, and Sarah was still lying on her couch. The blankets and pillow Jareth had used were still there, and they smelled like him. Unable to help herself, she had laid her head against the pillow, inhaling his scent. It made her want to cry again, but she couldn't. She was all cried out, and all she had left to do was sit and think.

She had gone over it again and again in her mind, and she still didn't understand how Jareth could have lied to her. He must have lied; he couldn't possible love her while being promised to another woman. How could he have done this? Had he really not meant anything he'd said? She briefly wondered if all of this was just him taking revenge on her for defeating him so long ago. But for some reason, she doubted that. He had looked genuinely crestfallen this afternoon, and part of her was still hoping this was all a mistake. But how could it be? He was to marry another woman, after convincing her that he wanted only her.

She sighed. It was hopeless. Then, out of nowhere, a crystal materialized on her lap. Knowing it had to be something from Jareth, she almost ignored it. But of course she couldn't. She picked it up and examined it. Suddenly, it shattered in her hand and Sarah was pulled into an almost dream-like state. She found herself back in the Underground, but she wasn't really there. It was almost as if she were watching a movie in her mind, one she couldn't shut off.

She saw scenes swirl past her vision, lightening fast, yet she could clearly see what was happening. She saw Jareth as a child, with a young boy who must be Bayron, and another child, a beautiful little girl. She saw the three of them laughing and playing together. The girl –somehow she knew it was Merelinda- ran after the boys into a crystal clear, shimmering lake. She dove in after the boys, and as she hit the water her legs disappeared, replaced by what looked like a glittery blue fish tail. A mermaid, Sarah realized. Sarah watched as the children grew up, always together, always loyal to each other. She understood that these three friends were extremely close, and would do anything for one another.

The visions changed quickly, and Sarah found herself looking at an adult Jareth and Merelinda. She could hear Merelinda pleading with Jareth, begging him to pose as her fiancé until she became Queen of the Merfolk. She watched as Jareth finally agreed, as he would do anything to help his friends. She saw Jareth and Merelinda continue their separate lives, and she could sense their love for each other, but as nothing more than friends.

Suddenly the visions stopped, and Sarah looked around at her familiar living room. She didn't understand what had just happened, but she knew Jareth had sent the crystal as an explanation. He had let her see first hand what had happened, and how he became engaged.Sarah's head spun slightly as shethought about what she had seen and felt. She knew now that Jareth didn't love Merelinda, at least not like he loved her. Jareth had agreed to be Merelinda's fiancé only until she took the throne. Why was that, and when would that be? She didn't really understand, and she felt confused; all of a sudden her perspective had been changed, and she found herself sympathizing with Jareth.

His engagement to Merelinda showed her what kind of person Jareth truly was. Someone that was loyal and good-hearted, and would do anything for someone he cared about. How was he to know that years after agreeing to Merelinda, he would meet Sarah?

She laughed; it felt good to laugh after crying for so long. She was still upset at Jareth for not being truthful with her from the start, but she supposed he had good reason not to tell her right away he was engaged. She was just incredibly happy that he didn't love another woman.

"Jareth, please come to me," she said to the empty room.

At Julie's, Jareth was resting from using so much magic to conjure the crystal he'd sent to Sarah when he felt Sarah calling to him. He sat up quickly, his heart pounding. Could she have possibly forgiven him?

"Julie, Sarah's calling me, I must go," he called into the kitchen where Julie was preparing dinner. "Tell Bayron where I went, and that I'm happy for the both of you."

Julie grinned at him, hoping Jareth's crystal had helped Sarah understand. "Go get your woman, Jareth," she said, winking at him.

With a wave of his hand, Jareth disappeared.


	20. time for the truth

Ch 21

Sarah was waiting anxiously for Jareth to appear. Then, he was there so suddenly that she gasped. He stood there looking at her for a moment; it was hard for him to read the expression on her face.

"You called?" he asked softly, hoping against hope that she had called him to tell him she still loved him, and not the alternative.

He felt his heart leap as she gave him a tiny smile. He wanted nothing more than to gather her into his arms, but he could tell she wanted to say something, so he restrained himself.

"Jareth," she began, "I watched what was in the crystal you sent me, and I want you to know that I understand what happened. I think you're a wonderful friend for doing that for Merelinda, and not everyone is lucky enough to have a friend like you. So I want you to know that I'm not mad about you being engaged. But I am upset that you didn't feel like you could tell me the truth from the beginning. I guess I understand that, too, but it still bothers me, because I want you to be able to trust me, and I want to be able to trust you. So for any kind of relationship between us to work, we need to be completely honest with each other, about everything. So please, if there's anything else I should know about you, tell me now." She stopped and waited for his reaction.

He felt relief wash over him that she was not longer angry with him. No matter how innocent his relationship with Merelinda was, it took someone with a huge heart to forgive what he'd done. His eyes were sparkling as he said, "Sarah, I can't begin to tell you how happy I am that you understand. Please forgive me for not telling you sooner; I was worried it would scare you off before I had a chance to explain everything." He stepped over to the couch and sat down next to her.

"There is one other small confession I must make," he said, and he saw her guard instantly go up. "No, it's nothing as big as a fiancée, I assure you. It's just that, well, do you remember when I first came over to you at the bar, and told you I couldn't go home until we resolved why you'd called me here?" He waited for Sarah to nod before he went on. "That wasn't exactly true; I just used that as an excuse to get you to talk to me. I'm actually able to return to the Underground at any time, although I'm only able to stay here until tomorrow night."

Sarah took that in stride; she didn't feel like much would faze her now, not after the fiancée announcement. She didn't like that he had to leave so soon, but she at least wanted to make the most of the time they had left. "Jareth, I feel like I say this every five minutes, but, we need to talk." She rushed on without waiting for him to reply. "How long do you have to stay engaged to Merelinda?"

"Only until the end of the month. I know you're probably confused as to why exactly the engagement was necessary." He could tell by the look on her face that she was. "Well, the Merfolk have some pretty strange and unusual laws, and a lot of them don't make sense to anyone but them. One of them is that for someone to take over the throne, they must either be married or engaged. Merelinda does not wish to marry any time soon, but she wants to be Queen, so I agreed to be her fiancée until her father hands the throne down to her, which will be the end of this month. Once she is crowned Queen, it no longer matters about her marital state."

It sounded pretty stupid to Sarah. What kind of law was that? She didn't question it further though, she had encountered plenty of strange things in the Labyrinth, so she was able to accept Jareths's explanation without questions. Well, except for one.

"Jareth, tell me the honest to god truth. Do you love her as more than a friend?" Sarah thought she already knew the answer; she had sensed from the crystal visions that Jareth and Merelinda felt only platonic love for each other, but she had to be sure.

"No, Sarah," Jareth said, looking deep into her eyes. "I love her as a dear friend, nothing more. You are the only one I love, and the only one I want to be with forever." He got up off the couch and went down on his knees. He magically pulled a sparkling diamond ring out of the air. Sarah's breath caught in her throat when she realized what he was doing.

"Sarah, my love, you are the one who captured my heart so long ago, and there is no one I would rather spend eternity with than you. You are my heart and my soul, and I swear to you that I will cherish you as long as we both shall live. Nothing would make me happier than to have you as my Queen, my equal, and my partner in life. I love you with all I have, Sarah Williams. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

For the second time in her life, she was speechless. With tears of joy in her eyes, she did the only thing she could. She leaned down to him and kissed him, putting all her feelings into it.

Jareth pulled away momentarily. "Does this mean you accept?"

Sarah smiled and said, "Yes, Jareth, I'll marry you, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you." She pulled him up onto the sofa with her and kissed him again. they only paused long enough for Jareth to slip the ring on her finger.

He pulled her closer to him, loving the way her body felt against his. He kissed her harder, eliciting a small moan from her as she melted into the kiss. He gently ran his hand up her leg and up her side, stopping just under her breasts. His touch made her tingle all over, it was like electricity. Never had she felt so much from just a kiss.

Jareth was lost in her. He kissed her with all the passion he had held inside for ten years, and he felt himself starting to lose control.

He broke away gently. "Sarah, we should slow down."

She pulled him closer, saying, "I don't want to slow down. I just want you."

He almost lost all his self-control at that. Somehow, though he composed himself. "Sarah, I want to wait to finish this until our wedding night."

She looked at him in amazement. "Am I actually hearing this from a man? You want to wait to have sex until our wedding night?" She could hardly believe it. Plus, she was rather disappointed.

"Is that so bad?" he asked her, trailing a finger along her jawline. "It will just make it all that more special, plus it will be something to look forward to." She had to admit it made sense, and reluctantly she agreed.

"All right then, if we're going to wait, then we can't be doing much of this. Because I don't know if I can stand it," she said. It was true; already she wanted to feel his lips on hers again.

"Okay, then, what do you suggest we do instead?" he asked her.

Relieved that for now, her problems were over, she wanted to know how Bayron and Julie were. "Does she know?"

"Yes, he told her everything. And surprisingly, she took it quite well. I'm fairly certain that we can expect a happy ending from them," he answered.

Sarah was relieved. She had been so worried about how Julie would react to Bayron, and she was glad that things seemed to be working out.

"Well, it looks like tonight will wind up being a good night for all of us," she said. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearly 10 p.m. It seemed early; after all that had happened today, she felt like a week had passed. "We could see if Julie and Bayron want to go somewhere to celebrate our happy endings." She figured they could go to a late dinner, or just do something simple like go out for ice cream.

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Jareth replied. And with a snap of his fingers, they were back in Julie's apartment.

And by the looks of the couple madly kissing on the couch, this time, they were the ones with the bad timing. "Looks like they're doing okay," Sarah whispered to Jareth. She felt happier than she had been in a long time. Finally, everything was working out okay.


	21. a lighter mood

Ch 22

Bayron and Julie didn't notice anyone else was there until they heard someone clear their throat.

"Ahem." Sarah tried not to giggle.

Julie jumped up and shrieked. "Holy shit, you guys scared the crap out of me! Don't you ever knock?" she asked, mocking Sarah teasingly. She was too happy to be mad they'd interrupted her.

"Now you know what it feels like," Sarah laughed. "So I see everything's okay with you?"

"Yeah," Julie said contentedly. "These immortal guys sure know how to kiss!" Sarah laughed again before saying more seriously, "So…you're okay with all this?"

Julie waited a second before answering. It was all still a little hard to take, but in her heart, it didn't matter. She was in love and to hell with everything else.

She grinned at Sarah. "Yep, everything's great." She looked over at Jareth and Bayron, who were deep in conversation, and said, "I'm assuming you guys worked everything out?"

Sarah didn't say a word, just held out her left hand. Julie's eyes widened as she realized Sarah was wearing an engagement ring. "Oh my god, look at the size of that rock!" She grabbed Sarah's hand for a closer look. "I'm so happy for you! This is so exciting! When are you getting married? Where's the wedding gonna be? Oh mygosh, where are you going to live? Are you gonna quit your job?" She would have gone on and on if Sarah hadn't stopped her.

"To answer all of the above, I don't know," Sarah said. "And to be honest, right now I don't care about the details. Jareth and I can talk about that tomorrow, I just want to relax and enjoy tonight. This felt like the longest day of my life!" Julie agreed with her.

"Anyway," Sarah continued, "the main reason we came over is to see if you guys want to go out somewhere to celebrate our happiness."

"Could you sound any cornier?" Julie joked. "But yeah, I'd love to get out of here. How 'bout you, hon?" she asked Bayron, and he agreed it sounded like a good idea.

"Well, what do you feel like doing? Do you guys want to grab a late dinner?" Sarah asked.

Since Julie and Bayron had just eaten dinner not long ago, they didn't really want to go to a restaurant. "Okay then, how about some dessert? We can go get some ice cream."

Julie laughed. "I haven't gone out for ice cream in years, it makes me feel like a little kid again. I'm all for it!"

Within just a few minutes, they headed out the door towards the ice cream shop down the road.

A few hours later, Jareth and Sarah returned to Sarah's apartment, both tired but enjoying each others company. They flopped down on the couch, and Sarah closed her eyes as she leaned against him.

"I love you," she murmured. He gently stroked her hair and he said, "I love you too, more than anything in the world."

"Mmm," Sarah mumbled sleepily. A minute later, she was sleeping soundly in Jareth's arms, and he felt like the luckiest man alive.


	22. a sudden realization

Ch 23

The next morning was warm and sunny, and Sarah took her time waking up. She cracked open her eyes, momentarily confused as to her surroundings before she remembered falling asleep on the couch with Jareth.

She turned her head to see him already awake and looking at her. "Morning love," he said with a grin. "You look cute in the morning, with your hair all messed up." She grinned back at him. "You think your hair looks any better?" She laughed as he attempted to smooth down his wild blond mane. "Stop that, you look gorgeous." She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek before getting up off the couch.

"Hey, where are you going?" he pouted, trying to pull her back down. She laughed and slapped his hands away. "Quit it, let me get up to use the bathroom."

Helet her go and watched as she made her way to the bathroom. Waking up next to her was a wonderful feeling, and he couldn't wait until it happened every morning. He had never been happier than he was now.

He stretched lazily as he heard Sarah turn on the shower. He settled himself into the pillows on the couch and flicked on the television. He had always found TV to be quite entertaining, and he was content to flip through the channels.

Sarah laughed when she emerged from the shower a short time later and saw him engrossed in a home makeover program. "You thinking about redecorating the castle anytime soon?" she teased him. He hadn't heard her approaching, and he jumped a little when she spoke. He flushed slightly at what he had been caught watching. "No. It's just that once I turned this show on, I have to watch it till the end to see how everything turns out."

She laughed again, and went and sat next to him. They snuggled up next to each other until the show was over. Then Sarah got up to make them breakfast. When they were done eating, they headed back to the couch. "I just feel like being a bum today," Sarah said, enjoying the feeling of being lazy with Jareth. "Plus, we have to work out a lot of details about the wedding. I don't even know how an Underground wedding works! I'm assuming there aren't any churches or anything?"

"No there aren't," Jareth replied. "But Underground weddings don't differ greatly from Aboveground weddings. They're usually held outside-we can hold ours in the garden of my castle. And any member of nobility can marry two people. If we want, I can even have Bayron marry us."

"I like that idea," she said, fantasizing about what her wedding would be like. Unlike many girls, she hadn't really given getting married much thought, and she realized she had no idea how to plan a wedding. She got a little bit worried, and then she suddenly thought of her parents. What the hell were they going to say about this? She'd have to explain who, and what, Jareth was, and she had the feeling they wouldn't accept the news as calmly as Julie had. She felt all her excitement slowly drain away as she contemplated this dilemma.

Jareth noticed her change of expressions. "Love, what's wrong? You're not having second thoughts, are you?" He was teasing, but a small part of him worried that was true.

"No, Jareth, it's not that," she said, looking troubled. "It's my parents. I haven't even thought about what they're going to say about this. I'm going to have to tell them about you, and they're not gonna believe me. What am I supposed to do about them? I can't get married and not have my parents at my wedding!" she was getting herself worked up, and Jareth hugged her, trying to calm her down.

"Shhh, darling, don't worry so much. Your parents invited us over to dinner, so call and ask if we can come by tonight. We'll tell them the truth and hope for the best."

Sarah sighed. He made it sound so simple. Well, she supposed it was that simple. What choice did she have, really, other than to just tell her parents the truth? And if she wanted Jareth with her, they'd have to do it tonight, since he had to go back home soon. Before she could talk herself out of it, she got up and grabbed the phone. She spoke to Karen briefly, and Karen said it would be fine if they stopped by for dinner. Sarah hung up and looked at Jareth. "Well, there's no turning back now."

Jareth held her close. "Sarah, your parents are good people. I have faith that they'll understand. Besides, think how excited Toby will be. He'll get his chance to visit the Labyrinth.

Sarah brightened at the mention of her brother. "Yeah, I know that I can at least count on him to be supportive. Oh, I just really hope it goes okay." She looked at the clock, which read 10 a.m. "We don't have to be there until 6, so I have lots of time to work out what to say." Jareth smiled at how nervous she sounded.

"Don't do that, you'll just make yourself more nervous. Just sit here with me and try to think of something else. Like, for instance, your wedding dress?" He figured most women would love to talk about their choice of wedding gown, and he figured right.

Sarah decided he was right, and she'd do her best to concentrate on other things. "I know exactly what I want my dress to look like. I want to look like I did at the ball, after I ate that peach." She looked confused for a second. "Wait, that ball was real, wasn't it? I didn't just dream it?" She had never been quite sure of that.

"No, it was very real," Jareth replied. "And you looked incredibly beautiful then, too. I can get that dress made for you if you'd like. It wouldn't be a problem at all."

"Thanks, I'd like that." She gave him a kiss, then sat back and started daydreaming about her wedding day.


	23. meet the parents

A/N: Once again, I want to thank everyone who reviewed. By the way...please don't think I'm rude for not thanking you individually…it's just that by the time I get the reviews, I've already posted another three or four more chapters. I'll probably keep updating pretty quickly, because I've already written a alot of this story...so it's just a matter of posting it. Just know that I really appreciate the reviews and thank you for reading!

Ch 24

Sarah found herself relaxing as the day wore on. There just wasn't any point in worrying about her father's and Karen's reactions to her wedding. Either they accepted it, or they didn't, and although Sarah hoped they would accept it, it didn't matter to her. She loved Jareth, and she was going to marry him no matter what. She wanted to spend this time with him and enjoy herself, before he had to go back home.

They spent the afternoon on the couch, kissing, snuggling, and talking, getting up only to eat lunch. They talked a lot about the wedding; in fact, they worked out most of the details. They also discussed the Underground, and what Sarah's new life would be like. She knew she had definitely rushed into this without thinking much of the future, and it was reassuring to talk about it. She was still a little nervous about becoming a Queen, but Jareth had spent a lot of time telling her what would be expected of her, and she felt confident she could handle it.

She couldn't completely shake the feeling that this was all surreal. So much had happened in such a short amount of time, and it was a little overwhelming. She felt much better after talking with Jareth, but now she found herself worrying again about her parents. She couldn't help it; they were her only family, and she knew she'd be crushed if they didn't accept what she had to tell them.

She looked at the clock and saw that it was almost five. Jareth was engrossed in yet another makeover show, which made her smile. She watched him for a minute, appreciating his beauty. Then she stood up to get ready.

"Where are you going?" Jareth asked, tearing his eyes away from the TV.

"It's five o'clock, we have to be at my parents' house at six, so I need to get ready," she said, leaning down to kiss him. She gasped as Jareth pulled her down on top of him. He tightened his arms around her as he kissed her hungrily. "I love you so much," he whispered as he broke away to place a trail of kisses down her neck.

"Mmmm…I love you, too," she sighed. Whatever he was doing to her neck was sending little shivers of pleasure through her. Hard as it was to stop, she knew she had to, or they were going to be late. Reluctantly she pulled out of their embrace and stood up. "I have to get ready, I don't want to be late." She gave him one more quick kiss before heading to her room to get dressed.

Jareth smiled at her back as she walked away. He knew how worried she was about talking to her parents, and he wished he knew of a way to make it less stressful. But magic wouldn't help them with this one. They just needed to let Sarah's parents know the truth and hope for the best. He wasn't all that worried, because although he didn't want Sarah's parents to upset her, he also knew that she would marry him regardless of their reaction, and that made him happy. He smiled again to himself and went back to watching reality TV.

A short while later, Sarah emerged from her bedroom. For some reason, she had felt the need to dress up, and she had on nice black pants and a tight short-sleeved sweater. She had butterflies in her stomach, and she was really starting to dread this dinner. Jareth turned off the TV and went over to her. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Sarah, listen to me. Don't do this to yourself. You're doing nothing wrong, and if your parents can't accept that, than it's no longer your concern."

She bit her lip. "I know, I know, you're right. I don't know why I'm so worried. It's just, they're my family, and I always thought that telling them that I was getting married would be a happy time, not a nerve-wracking one. But you're right, I swear, I'll try to stop worrying." She gave him a tight hug, saying, "Thank you for trying to help me feel better, though. I appreciate it."

He kissed the top of her head and said, "That's what I'm here for." She smiled up at him and gave him a kiss.

"We better go," she said, glancing at the clock. "Oh, and not to be rude, but before we go, do you think you could put on something more appropriate for a dinner with my parents?" she asked, looking at his tight pants, ruffly shirt and wild hair.

He scowled at her. "I don't see anything wrong with my outfit." But he was just teasing, and quickly transformed his clothing into more acceptable attire, with his hair pulled back in a neat ponytail. Then they headed out the door.

Sarah was quiet during the car ride, and Jareth left her to her thoughts. Fifteen minutes later, they were pulling into her parents' driveway. Sarah shut off the car and slowly opened the door. God, she was dreading this. She took a deep breath, and grabbing Jareth's hand, she walked up the front walk and into the house.

"Hello! We're here!" Sarah called out as she shut the door behind her.

"Sarah! Sarah!" Toby came streaking through the house and ran to her for a hug. "Gosh, anyone would think you hadn't seen me in years," she teased him, ruffling his hair.

Toby just smiled and turned his attention over to Jareth. "Hi Jareth! Are you gonna play with me after dinner? I have new video games, I bet you'd like them!" Sarah laughed at the thought of Jareth playing video games, and she answered for him. "We'll see, Tobes, it all depends on how dinner goes."

"Why, what's gonna happen at dinner?" Toby asked curiously. Sarah bit her lip, debating whether or not to tell Toby what was going on Finally, she just said, "Well, Jareth and I have a surprise for all of you, but I don'tknow how mom and dad will take it." Sarah figured tht was enough information.

"Oh..." Toby said, wishing he knew what she meant, but he could tell by the look on her face that he wouldn't get anything else out of her.

"Where's mom and dad?" she asked her brother.

"In the kitchen," Toby answered and ran off. Sarah sighed and thought one more time about leaving and saying nothing, but didn't. She was an adult, and she shouldn't be scared of her parents. With that thought in mind, she led Jareth to the kitchen.

Her father was at the table, reading the paper, and Karen was just finishing setting the table. They both looked up as Sarah and Jareth entered the room.

"Hi, honey," her dad said, standing up to give her a kiss on the cheek "Hi Karen," she said, giving Karen a kiss as well. "You guys remember Jareth," she said as Jareth moved forward to shake her father's hand.

"Yes, Jareth, good to see you. We were in such a rush yesterday, I barely even said hello. Sarah doesn't often bring home her boyfriends, and I'm anxious to get to know you. " Jareth smiled at that. "I'm sure that by the end of dinner, you'll know me all too well," he said with a grin and a wink at Sarah. She frowned, a little irritated that he could take this so lightly. Then she busied herself with helping Karen bring the food to the table. When it was all ready, Karen called for Toby, and they all sat down to eat.

They spend the first few minutes digging into their meals. Then, Sarah's father looked over at Jareth. "So, Jareth, I hear from Toby that you're a Goblin King."


	24. it all comes out part 3

Ch 25

Sarah choked on her bite of food. Gasping, she grabbed her glass of water and chugged down half of it, her face beet red.

"Sarah, are you okay?" her dad asked, jumping up. She waved him away, fanning her face.

"Mm-hm, I'm fine, Dad, just swallowed the wrong way," she managed to say, glaring at Toby.

He shrugged at her. "You know, remember how I said Jareth looks like the Goblin King from that old show I saw on TV? Mom and Dad were asking me about it." He felt bad, he didn't want Sarah to be mad at him.

"Yeah Sarah," her father said, giving her an odd look. "Karen and I thought it was funny that the first time Toby meets Jareth, he calls him something like the Goblin King!" Jareth bristled at that. Just what was wrong with being a goblin king?

Sarah closed her eyes. It was now or never; this was the perfect opening. Oh boy. How should she start? "You guys, the reason I asked if we could come to dinner was because Jareth and I need to talk to you about something."

"What, honey?" Karen smiled at her. Then her face fell as a thought occurred to her. "Wait Sarah, you're not going to tell us you're pregnant are you?" At that, it was her father's turn to choke, his face turning an angry shade of red.

"No, no no…nothing like that," Sarah was quick to reassure them. _Although I think telling you that would be a picnic compared to this-at least that's normal!_

Sarah started to talk fast. "Well, you see, yesterday wasn't actually the first time Toby met Jareth, he actually met him a long time ago, when he was just a baby, but he recognized him and he knew he was the Goblin King, and that's what we need to talk about, how Jareth really is the Goblin King…" Sarah had to take a breath, she wished she could start over and stop rambling.

Her father and Karen looked confused. "Wait, so are you telling us that it was really Jareth who played the Goblin King in whatever Toby saw?" He didn't understand; what he was getting from this was that Sarah knew Jareth when he was filming that show and somehow brought Toby to visit the set, and Toby still remembered it.

"I wish," Sarah muttered. "No Daddy, that's not it, I mean, Jareth really is…" she couldn't go on, and her eyes pleaded with Jareth to help. Jareth grinned; he thought this could be rather fun.

Without another word, Jareth stood up and produced a crystal. He let it glide over his hands, over and over again, and for a minute Sarah's father thought it was just a good magic trick. Until Jareth squeezed the crystal. That's when it shattered in a cloud of glitter, and Jareth was suddenly transformed into his full Goblin King attire, wild hair and all.

"What the-!" Sarah's father jumped out of his seat in shock, still thinking this was some kind of elaborate trick. Karen could only gape at Jareth with her mouth hanging open. Toby thought it was great having the Goblin King suddenly appear at the dinner table. And Sarah just didn't know what to think. This was not at all how she had expected this to go. She'd wanted to talk to her parents, not terrify them!

Jareth spoke. "I am Jareth, King of the Goblins. I rule my kingdom from the castle beyond the Goblin City, at the heart of the Labyrinth."

"What the hell are you talking about? Is that a line from your movie?" Sarah's dad clung to the idea that Jareth was a clever actor, although he was beginning to feel a bit frightened. What kind of crazy boyfriend had Sarah brought here?

Toby couldn't hold it in anymore, he was too excited by all this. "No Dad! Sarah wished the goblins would take me away when I was little, so Jareth came and got me and Sarah had to go through the Labyrinth to get me back and I had fun! I played with Jareth and the goblins and I really really want to go back!" He was bouncing in his seat with excitement, but sat still and shut up when he saw how everyone was looking at him.

Sarah's father couldn't speak, he had no idea what the hell was going on at his dinner table. Karen spoke up first. "Sarah, please, what is going on? I think you're frightening us a little." She was fought to stay calm, thinking there must be a good explanation for all this.

Sarah didn't know what to say, she felt like she had totally lost control of the situation. "I don't know how to explain all of this to you, so much happened and it's so unbelievable that-" she stopped as an idea occurred to her.

"Jareth, can you make another crystal like you made for me, to show them everything that happened? That might make it easier tounderstand than talking about it."

"As you wish, my dear." And Jareth produced two crystals and tossed them at her father and Karen. Instead of hitting them, the crystals shattered as they touched their bodies, and the two instantly looked like they were in a trance.

"This will probably last for a while," Jareth said to Sarah. She took a deep breath, unable to believe how this evening was going. Everything had gotten out of control so fast. "What were you thinking, doing that?" she asked Jareth sharply. "You know how worried I was, that's not how I wanted this to happen." She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.

Jareth tried to look apologetic. "Sarah, I'm sorry, I just did what I thought would be best. What better way to explain everything than to simply show them? There was no point in dragging it out. I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist. Plus," he added, breaking into a wide smile, "Did you see looks on their faces?" He laughed, the impish Fae in him shining through.

Sarah wanted to be angry, but she found herself laughing too. Her parents had looked so shocked! She laughed until her stomach hurt.

"Oh God!" she gasped, trying to get a hold of herself. But she couldn't; it was either laugh or cry, and she was sick of crying.

She had wanted this night to be as normal as possible, but who was she kidding? Nothing about her life was even remotely normal anymore. Why should this be any different?

She had barely noticed that Toby had gotten out of his chair, and was looking closely at his parents. "Sarah, are they okay?" he asked worriedly.

Sarah instantly felt guilty, and her laughter stopped abruptly. "Oh Tobes, don't worry, they're fine. Right now they're just sort of watching a movie in their heads, and when it's done they'll know everything that happened in the Labyrinth." She knelt down and gave Toby a hug. "I'm really not hungry anymore. What do you say we go check out your games till mom and dad, um, wake up."

Toby gave his parents one more worried look, but he trusted his sister. "Okay! I'll bring them down to the family room!" He ran off towards his room.

Sarah looked over to Jareth. She smiled at him, she couldn't really be mad at him. And it was kind of a relief to have this all taken care of for her. Sure, her parents would have questions, but at least Sarah was spared having to make the initial explanation.

"How much are they going to see?" she asked him.

"Pretty much everything, from the moment you wished Toby away until you arrived back home," he replied.

"So...they won't know anything about us getting married, or Merelinda, or Julie and Bayron?"

"No," Jareth said, "I just used the crystals as a way of makining all of that easier to understand." Sarah sighed. She had a feeling this was going to be a long, long night.

"Jareth! Come in here, I'm getting the game ready so we can play!" Toby called from the family room.

Sarah looked at Jareth and grinned. "Let's go. I know how much you like to play games, you shouldenjoy this. But be careful, Toby's really good. I know how big of a sore loser you are!" She laughed as he threw a green bean at her. She threw it back, then ran towards the family room before they could start an all-out food fight in her parents kitchen.


	25. between life and death

A/N: I just wanted to mention that I've read a lot of stories that used Karen and Richard as Sarah's parents' names, and since I'm not sure what their names really were in the movie, I'm guessing those names are as good as any. I just don't want anyone to feel like I stole their character! It's completely innocent, I swear!

Ch 26

Toby and Jareth were caught up in their video game, which Jareth was surprisingly good at. Sarah was enjoying watching them from the couch. She laughed quietly at how intently Jareth was focusing on the game. They were all so caught up in what they were doing that for a moment, no one noticed Sarah's parents standing in the doorway.

When Sarah glanced up and saw them, she hissed, "Toby-Jareth, turn it off, mom and dad are awake!" Toby quickly shut off the game as Jareth stood up and went to stand next to Sarah. She stayed quiet, unsure if she should start talking or let her parents make the first move.

No one spoke for a long moment. Finally, Sarah asked, "Dad? Karen? Are you…okay?"

"I don't know," her father replied with a dazed look on his face. "I don't understand what's going on here. Well, I do," he said quickly, afraid of Jareth throwing another crystal at him. "But I think you have some major explaining to do."

Sarah bit her lip. "I know. I know this is hard to believe, let's just sit down and discuss this like adults." Her father looked warily at Jareth. "No throwing weird hallucinogenic glass balls?"

Jareth laughed. "I promise. I apologize for that, but I was afraid that without experiencing it for yourself, you would never accept Sarah's story."

Her parents sat down on the couch. "Well, to be honest, I'm not sure if I accept anything," her dad said. "You're right, if I hadn't seen that, I would never in a million years even be willing to talk about this."

Karen was staring at Jareth and Sarah. "Before anything else, I just want you two to promise me something."

"What?" Sarah asked nervously.

"Please, just swear to me that you'll tell us the truth. Was everything I saw actually real? Did that really happen, or is this some kind of sick joke? Just promise me that you aren't lying."

Sarah looked Karen in the eyes. "Karen, I love you and dad very much, and I swear to you, I would never joke about something like this. I know it's hard to believe, but everything you saw really, truly happened, and I hope you guys can try to accept it, because I have a lot more to tell you."

Karen let out a breath. "I had a feeling this was all real, but I just wanted to hear it from you. You've never lied to us before, and I have no reason not to trust you."

Sarah smiled at her, saying, "Thanks, Karen." The smile left her face as she looked at her dad. The poor man looked shell-shocked.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay," he said. "So let's say I believe all this Labyrinth stuff. If all that is true, then what the hell are you doing here, with my daughter?" he asked, looking at Jareth through narrowed eyes.

Jareth didn't like that he automatically assumed he was a villain, but he let it go for now.

"Mr. Williams," Jareth began, but he was cut off. "You can just call me Richard, I think we're past formalities here," Richard said.

"Okay, Richard then." Jareth continued. "Think back about Sarah's experience in the Labyrinth. Remember what you saw. I know it seemed that I was the villain, but I had only been doing what she asked of me. Throughout her entire journey, I did everything she expected me to do. I even offered her all of her dreams, although I can admit now that it was rather selfish on my part since I wanted nothing more than to have her stay with me. I knew she had begun to love me, but in the end, Sarah chose to leave me and sacrifice her happiness to save Toby."

Richard couldn't accept this at face value. "How could my daughter have fallen in love with you? Did you trick her, or throw one of those crazy balls at her, or-" Sarah stopped him.

"Stop it Dad, he didn't trick me at all, it wasn't like that. Please don't judge him. He's a wonderful, loyal, caring person, who would do anything to make me happy. That's why I fell in love with him!" By the time Sarah had finished, she had grabbed Jareth's hand and was holding it tightly, waiting for her father's reaction.

Richard just stared at them. "Give me a minute, this is too much to take in all at once," he groaned as he leaned back into the couch. Inwardly, Sarah smiled. She knew exactly how he felt; it was still almost too much for even her to take in!

Karen, who had been quietly absorbing all of this, finally spoke up. "I believe you, Jareth. I could tell from watching you that you cared for Sarah then, and I can see that you love her now." She grinned suddenly. "Maybe I'm crazy, for not believing that all of this is crazy. But I don't think so. I'm glad you two found each other, no matter what circumstances it was under." Karen had meant what she said earlier; she trusted Sarah, and if being with a goblin king made her happy, then Karen was happy for her.

Sarah was startled. She had been hoping her parents would be okay with this, but Karen's reaction was too good to be true. Sarah wrapped her stepmother in a tight hug. "Thank you so much, Karen," she whispered.

Sarah's father had been observing them with wide-eyed disbelief. "What? Karen, you mean you-you just accept all this? And you give them your blessing? My god, am I the only one around here who's still sane?" He was furious.

Karen sat back down next to him and patted his knee. "Honey, listen to me. You saw it with your own eyes. Call us crazy all you want, but deep down, you know you can't deny that this is true. How in the world could they have made up a story like this? Why would Sarah do something like that? She wouldn't, and you know it. Now, I'm begging you, take a minute to think through everything that's just happened. You'll see the truth if you just look for it. Once you've calmed down, we can discuss this like rational adults."

Richard wanted to scream. How could he be expected to act like a rational adult when he'd just found out his daughter was in love with a goblin king? It was absurd! But he took a deep breath, and fought to stay calm. The scary thing was he_ did_ believe what Sarah and Jareth were telling him. And the fact that he believed it was what really scared him. How could he believe something as outrageous as this? But in his heart, he knew he did.

He sighed. "Come here, honey," he said, holding out his arms to her. She gratefully accepted his hug, hoping this meant everything was okay. "Daddy, I know it's a lot to take in, believe me, I know. But just please try to understand."

Richard rubbed his daughter's back. "I'll try, sweetie, I promise."

Sarah pulled away and looked at her father with tears shining in her eyes. "Thanks daddy."

"It's okay," he told her. "This isn't so bad. I'm only stretching, if not breaking, the limits of my belief systems. Nothing I can't handle." He chuckled. "I mean, it's not as if you're getting married or anything!"


	26. acceptance or rejection

Ch 27

Richard's chuckle died down as he saw the expression on Sarah's face. She slowly raised her left hand out to him so he could see what he hadn't noticed earlier, a sparkling diamond engagement ring.

"I love him Dad, and he loves me. We're happy, and we're going to get married. I truly hope you will support us. But I have to say that with or without your blessing, I'm going to become his wife."

Karen jumped up and hugged Sarah. "Oh, sweetie, I'm so happy for you! I always prayed that you'd find someone to make you truly happy." It seemed nothing could faze her now, and she felt only joy for Sarah.

Karen looked over at her husband, a little worried about him. His face had turned an interesting shade of red, and he was just staring at them.

"Richard? Honey? Your little girl's getting married! Say something," she coaxed.

He felt his head swimming. He was too darn old to keep getting surprised like this. He thought about his options. He could yell and curse, maybe throw Jareth a punch or two, quite possibly making his only daughter hate him. Or he could just accept it, knowing Sarah wasn't prone to making bad, impulsive decisions and that for this to happen, she must truly care for that...man. "My daughter is going to marry the Goblin King, so she will be becoming the Goblin Queen," he said softly, thinking for a moment. Then he grinned. "Well, that's a sentence I sure as hell never expected to come out of my mouth!" He then wrapped Sarah in a bear hug. "I love you honey, and I promise that no matter how hard all of this is for me to understand, I will support you. I'm not a fool; I can see how much you love him, and I just want you to be happy."

Sarah was crying by now, she was so relieved at what her father was saying. She hugged him back. "Thank you so much Daddy, I know I'll be happy with him."

Richard looked at Jareth as he pulled away from his daughter. "I don't care what kind of magical king you are, if you ever, _ever _hurt my daughter, I swear on everything holy that I will hunt you down and kill you." Jareth took the lecture well, knowing how protective fathers can be of their daughters. Plus, he couldn't get mad at Richard; seeing his tempermight break the poor man.

Jareth reached out his hand for Richard to shake. "I love her," he said simply. He didn't need to say anything more, because Richard could see in his eyes that he truly meant it.

They shook hands, and Richard went so far as to give Jareth a friendly pat on the shoulder.

Karen was asking Sarah what her wedding plans were, but Sarah couldn't pay attention. Her head was swimming; so many thoughts and feelings were floating through her mind. Even in her best-case scenario, she had never dreamed that tonight would turn out like this. She could scarcely believe it. Her father and Karen were being so wonderful, and they were taking this so much better than she'd hoped. She abruptly moved away from Karen and sat down heavily on the couch.

"Sarah, what's wrong?" Karen asked, alarmed at how pale Sarah looked. Jareth was instantly at her side, putting an arm around her. "Are you okay, my love?" he asked softly.

Sarah struggled to clear her spinning head. "I'm okay, you guys. I'm fine. I just…I was feeling a little overwhelmed, you guys are being so great and I wasn't expecting that, and it all just kind of got to me for a second." She leaned into Jareth, and he pulled her close to him. She took a deep breath. "I'm fine, really. Just-thank you guys, for being so great." She smiled tearfully at her parents, and they smiled back.

"If you're sure you're okay, I'd really like it if we could talk now," her father said. "If this is really happening, then I need to know all the details." Karen looked like she wanted some answers, too, so Sarah settled back onto the couch. Before she could say anything, Toby spoke up. He'd been so quiet, she'd almost forgotten he was there. "Wait Sarah, I don't care about all the mushy love and wedding stuff, just please tell me-does this mean I get to visit the Labyrinth?"

"Well Tobes," she said, glancing at her parents, "Yes, you'll be able to visit once Jareth and I are married. But it's up to mom and dad to tell you if you're allowed to come." She hated to put that on her parents, but it really was their decision to make, not hers.

"Oh God Toby," her father groaned. "I can't think about that right now. I'll tell you what, if you go on up to your room while we're talking, then I promise I will consider it. Deal?"

Toby knew he wouldn't get a better answer out of his dad right now, so he smiled and said, "Deal." He ran up to his room, already thinking of ways to convince his parents to let him go.

Richard put Toby's request on the back burner for now. "So," he said to Sarah and Jareth, "When exactly are you planning to get married?" Sarah looked at Jareth, giving him a barely perceptible shake of her head, hoping he'd realize she was telling him not to say anything about Merelinda. Her parents didn't need to deal with that problem right now, if ever. Luckily, Jareth understood.

"In a month," he replied. "It'll take at least that long to make all the preparations. We've already discussed it at length. We'll be married in the gardens of my castle; they're beautiful at this time of year. I'm having my seamstress create a gown for Sarah, and of course, you are both welcome to stay with us as long as you wish."

"Thanks, that's very generous of you," Karen told him, wondering what exactly a goblin king's castle would look like.

"But Jareth," Richard said, "there are a lot-and I mean a _lot_- of things I still want to know, and not just about the wedding. Like, how is it that you're here now, after ten years? Did you two keep in touch that whole time?"

Before Jareth or Sarah could respond, Jareth gasped loudly. Sarah clutched his arm, alarmed. "Jareth, what is it?"

He shook his head, saying, "I'm not sure. But Bayron's calling me. Something's wrong, we have to get to Julie's, _now._" He got to his feet, pulling Sarah up with him. He turned to Sarah's parents. "I'm sorry, but we must go, it's an emergency. Thank you for having us, and I promise you we will answer all your questions later."

Sarah barely had time to say good bye to her parents before Jareth snapped them away to Julie's apartment, where the first thing they saw was Julie lying deathly still on the kitchen floor.


	27. will she make it?

Ch 28

"Oh my God, what happened?" Sarah cried as she rushed to where Julie lay. She didn't look like she was breathing, but Sarah felt for a pulse. She found it, steady but very faint. "We need to get her to the hospital _now_, someone, call for an ambulance." She turned back to her friend, too shocked to cry.

"We don't need an ambulance," Jareth said. Sarah looked up at him. "Are you nuts? She's dying, she needs to go to the hospital!" Before she had even finished speaking, she found herself standing in a large room; it looked like a bedroom, with sand-colored stone floors and walls. Sarah looked around to see Julie tucked into a huge four-poster bed. As she watched, two women rushed into the room and started attending to her.

"Don't worry about her," Jareth said, putting his arms around her. "These are the best healers in the Underground, and I know they can help her."

"Are we in your castle?" Sarah asked. "Yes," Jareth replied, "and I promise you Julie will receive better care here than in a hospital Aboveground."

"But what the hell happened to her?" Sarah asked angrily. Bayron was standing next to the bed, holding Julie's hand. He looked up mournfully at Sarah's question. "I don't know, Sarah." He sounded like his heart was breaking, and it was. He had finally found the woman of his dreams, who he had fallen hopelessly in love with, and now she was lying here fighting death. "We had just finished dinner, and she said she felt strange. Then she started breathing funny, like she was choking or something, and the next thing I knew, she had collapsed on the kitchen floor. I thought she was dead!" he cried with tears in his eyes.

Sarah's heart went out to him. "But she's not, you know Julie, she's a fighter. She'll be back with us in no time," Sarah said with false enthusiasm. Then she realized what he'd said, and something clicked in her brain."Bayron, what exactly did you have for dinner?"

"I don't know, she said she liked fish, and I can' t cook, so I had my cook at home send me a seafood dinner, I'm not really sure what was in it. Why, does it matter?" he said.

Sarah thought she understood what had happened. "Bayron, it matters a lot. Julie does like fish, but she absolutely can't eat shellfish. She has a really awful allergy to shellfish; she practically gets sick just smelling it. That must be what happened, there was shellfish in her dinner. I should have guessed before. I saw her have an allergic reaction once and it was terrifying. But I've never seen her this bad before," she said, fighting tears. Julie's food allergy was a potentially deadly one. From the looks of it, Julie had gone into shock, and it was very possible she could die.

Jareth was speaking with the healers, letting them know what Sarah had said. Of course, they had known immediately what was wrong, and were already hard at work at healing her. Jareth was relieved to have them there; he knew Neela and Shira were the best healers the Underground had, and they would do everything they possibly could for Julie.

"Is she going to live?" he asked them quietly. The two healers frowned. "Right now, it's hard to say, your Majesty," Neela replied. "She is not so far gone that there is nothing we can do. If she were Fae, she would definitely pull through. But she is mortal, and without the magic that would make a Fae naturally stronger against sickness, it's not clear yet whether or not she will live."

"Be assured, your Majesty, that we will do everything in our power to heal her," added Shira. "We have already seen some improvement since you brought her to us."

Jareth nodded at them. "Thank you. I know you will do your best."

Sarah and Bayron had been watching the exchange. "Is she going to be okay?" Sarah asked, fearing the worst, as Jareth walked back over to them.

Jareth hesitated. He pulled Sarah into his arms, wishing he could fix this. "It's uncertain as of right now. My healers say she is already improving, but she has a long way to go. Sarah, Bayron, just please be assured that they will do everything in their power to help her live." Bayron nodded numbly and moved back to keeping his vigil at Julie's bedside. He felt awful. Now he knew this was all his fault; he had given her the poison that could kill her.

Sarah cried as she clung to Jareth. "Damn it, we were so happy, everything was going so well, and now this. God Jareth, I don't know what I'll do if she dies, she's my best friend, she's like my sister!" She buried her head in Jareth's chest and sobbed.

Jareth gently stroked her back, trying to comfort her. He knew how he would be feeling if it were Bayron, or Merelinda, on their deathbed, and the thought made him hug Sarah even tighter. Jareth led her out of the room, giving the healers more privacy, and walked her to a room down the hall. He opened the door to reveal his bedchambers.

"You should lie down and try to get some sleep, my love, you need some rest. This has been a long day for both of us." She nodded her agreement, suddenly feeling exhausted. She climbed into Jareth's bed and he arranged the covers over her. Her eyelids felt like weights were pulling them down; she couldn't keep them open. Her head had barely hit the pillow before her eyes closed. She felt Jareth kiss her gently on the cheek, then begin to walk away.

"Jareth, please stay with me" she murmured sleepily.

"Of course I will, my love," he replied. He climbed into bed next to her and pulled her close to him. He wanted to take all the pain out of her heart, and it hurt him that he couldn't. He just held her tight as she drifted into sleep, knowing sleep was a long time away for him.

**A/N:** Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, I'm glad you like this. As you can see, I am already on chapter 28, with many more chapters ahead...this story sort of took on a life of its own, and I'm doing my best to get it under control! But I think it's safe to say that there's still a long way to go, so if you like this story, yay! You can enjoy it for many more chapters. If you don't like it, then... what are you doing reading all the way up to chapter 28? Anyways, just letting you all know I appreciate you reading this...thanks!


	28. some good news

Ch 29

Jareth woke the next morning to feel Sarah pressed against him, her arm slung over his stomach. He loved the feeling of waking up next to her, although he had imagined that the first time she slept in his bed, it would be under different circumstances.

He watched her sleep for a moment, smiling at how beautiful she looked. Asleep, her face was untouched by stress, and she looked peaceful. He hated to have to get out of bed, but he had matters he needed to attend to.

He carefully slipped out of the bed, mindful not to wake her. She needed too badly to rest.

He walked down the hall, wanting to check on Julie before anything else. He entered the room to see Bayron slumped in a chair next to the bed, sound asleep. The two healers looked tired; it took much more out of them to heal a mortal than a Fae. Jareth motioned for them to follow him into the hall.

"She's doing much better, your Majesty," Shira said, without waiting for Jareth to ask. "She's not quite awake yet, but I have no reason to believe she won't recover."

Jareth breathed a big sigh of relief, looking at the healers gratefully. "Neela, Shira, thank you. You've done your job well, and I will be eternally grateful."

Neela smiled. "You're welcome, your Majesty. I'm glad we could help." The two healers headed back into the room to attend to their charge.

Jareth made his way to his throne room, frowning at the messes the goblins had made in his absence, reminding himself to have a talk with them before Sarah became Queen. She shouldn't have to shove her way through garbage just to get to her throne.

He sprawled out on his throne, and thought of all the work he needed to get caught up on. He pictured the pile of paperwork he knew was on his desk, and he thought about having to settle disputes between dim-witted goblins. Not to mention doing the tedious day-to-day tasks involved with running a kingdom. He sighed. "To hell with it all," he said to himself, and produced a crystal to keep an eye on Sarah so he could be there when she woke up.

Sarah woke up a short time later, with the momentary amnesia that that only happens in the morning, shielding her for a short time from the events that had happened. She was looking around the bedroom, unsure of her surroundings, when Jareth opened the door. Sarah smiled at the sight of him, and then she remembered.

"Oh my god, Julie!" she cried, "is she okay? How is she?" Sarah tried to jump out of bed and get to Julie's room, but Jareth held her back.

"Wait, Sarah, she's okay. She's still sleeping right now," he told her. She looked up at him, her eyes brightening. "So she's going to be okay?" she asked hopefully.

Jareth smiled at her. "Yes, love, the healers say she is doing much better, and there's no reason why she shouldn't recover fully."

Sarah threw her arms around him, holding him tight. "Oh thank god, I was so worried about her. Thank you so much, Jareth, for bringing her here, I know it helped." She lifted her head and kissed him gently. He returned the kiss, then said, "You don't have to thank me, Sarah. I just did what I thought was best."

"How's Bayron?" she asked, remembering how anguished he'd looked last night. She hoped he was holding up okay.

"I don't know, he's asleep right now," Jareth replied. "He was no doubt up most of the night, so I'd rather not wake him yet." Sarah agreed, and then was embarrassed as her stomach let out a loud growl. She clamped her hand over her stomach, and grinned at him sheepishly. "I guess I'm a little hungry. I never did eat dinner last night." She suddenly remembered her parents.

"Oh, no, my parents must be worried sick," she said as she thought of how she'd left them. "After all we threw at them last night, we end up just disappearing right in front of them! Jareth, I have to let them know everything's okay!"

Jareth understood her concern, and he produced a crystal, handing it to her. "Use this. Hold it in both hands and simply speak. Tell your parents what you wish, and then I will send it to them."

"You mean they'll be able to see me talking?" Sarah asked, fascinated by how magic worked. Jareth nodded. "The Underground version of a camcorder," he said with a smile. Sarah grinned at him, and then held the crystal in both hands. She did her best to explain toher parentswhat had happened, and promised them she was okay and that she'd contact them again soon. When she was finished, she handed the crystal over to Jareth. When he tossed it in the air, it disappeared.

"Not that that's taken care of, let's get some breakfast," he said, taking her hand and leading her to the dining room.

They sat side by side at the long wooden table. As soon as they were seated, a female goblin hurried out to them, carrying plates of food. "That's fast service," Sarah noted with a grin. The goblin carefully set the plates of food in front of them.

"Thank you Herma, it looks wonderful," Jareth said to the little goblin. Herma blushed and curtsied clumsily. "You're welcome, your Majesty," she said politely, then scurried off back to the kitchen.

"She was cute," Sarah said, staring after the goblin. "And she seemed very polite; I didn't think the goblins were like that."

"They're not all bad," Jareth told her. "They all have good hearts, most of them just don't understand what they're doing when they make a mess, or scream and yell and carry on. It's just their nature."

Sarah was smiling at him. "You really care about them, don't you?" She had seen Jareth's face soften as he spoke of his subjects.

"Of course I do," he replied, "what kind of king would I be if I didn't care about my subjects? It's important that I'm not too easy on them though, because I have to keep control of them. My goblins need to respect me, and sometimes the only way of accomplishing this is to be cruel."

"I guess I can understand that," Sarah said doubtfully. She actually felt rather bad for the goblins, if they were always forced to deal with Jareth's cold side. Jareth knew what she was thinking, and said, "Sarah, my dear, we're definitely going to have to toughen you up before you become the Goblin Queen!"

She laughed at him, saying "We'll see about that!" Jareth smiled at her, knowing she would always stay as good-hearted and kind as she was now. He loved her for it, and he knew the goblins would love their new Queen, as well.


	29. visiting old friends

Ch 30

When they were done eating, Sarah wanted to go see Julie. "I know she's notcompletely better yet, but I just want to check on her." Jareth could understand her concern, so he took her to Julie's room. They entered to see Julie awake and talking to Bayron.

"Julie, you're awake!" Sarah cried, and rushed forward to give her friend a hug. Julie weakly returned the hug, and gave Sarah a small smile. "Yeah, and I feel like shit!" she said, making Sarah laugh. She was glad to see Julie was able to act like her normal self.

One of the healers, Neela, spoke up. "I'm afraid I have to ask you to make this a short visit, as Julie is still very tired and weak, and she needs to rest if she is to get well."

Julie wanted to argue-there was so much she needed to talk to Sarah about!- but she had to admit that she was still tired, and didn't have the strength to keep up a conversation. She'd already been talking with Bayron for quite awhile, and it wore her out.

"That's fine," Sarah told Neela. She turned back to Julie. "I just wanted to make sure you're really okay, we'll have all the time in the world to talk." Julie nodded, feeling her eyelids grow heavy. Seeing how tired her friend was, Sarah turned to leave, promising to come back when Julie was feeling better.

Bayron followed them out of the room, looking exhausted but thrilled that Julie was better. Julie had been awake for some time before Sarah had gotten there, and they had had a long talk. Julie said she didn't blame him for her getting sick; she said she should have known better than to just gobble up seafood without questioning what it was. Bayron felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders; he'd felt so incredibly guilty all night. He's spent most of the night just looking at her, and talking softly to her, hoping she'd pull through. He'd never been happier than he was the moment she opened her eyes and smiled at him.

Julie didn't know it yet, but he had been planning on asking her to marry him last night, after what was supposed to have been a romantic dinner. He'd had it all planned out, but then disaster had struck. He'd never been more scared in his life, not knowing if his love was going to live or die. He hoped she'd recover swiftly, so he could set his plan back into motion. He didn't want to live another day without that woman by his side; having come so close to losing her, he knew that the love he felt was true. He only prayed she loved him even half that much, for if she did, he was a lucky man, indeed.

"Jareth," he said to his old friend, "I can't you how much I appreciate you bringing her here. I can't believe I didn't think of doing it myself, the moment she collapsed, but I was too shocked to do anything, except call you. And I'm thankful I did."

"No thanks are needed, my friend. As I already said to Sarah, I only did what I thought was best," Jareth replied.

"Well, I'm thanking you anyway," Bayron said with a smile. "And now, if you don't mind, I'm going to rest for awhile, I want to be alert when Julie wakes up again!" With that, he walked away towards the room he stayed in every time he came to visit Jareth.

"Call on me when you wake up!" Jareth called to Bayron's retreating back. Bayron waved his agreement and disappeared into a room.

"Well," Jareth said to Sarah, "What would you like to do now? I can send you back home if you'd like, or I could show you around the kingdom." Sarah barely hesitated before answering.

"If you don't mind, I'd really like to see my friends, I haven't talked to them in years and I miss them." She looked at Jareth hopefully. He was a little disappointed; he wanted to spend the day with her. But they would have tonight to be together, and he didn't have the heart to tell her she couldn't see her friends.

"If that's what you'd like to do, it's fine with me," he smiled at her. She stood on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. When she tried to pull away, he grabbed her around the waist and held her tightly, deepening the kiss. When he finally allowed her to pull away, he said, "I love you, Sarah, more than you'll ever know."

Her heart melted as she gazed into his eyes, seeing nothing but love reflected there. "I know, Jareth. And I love you too, more than you ever imagined I would!" They smiled at each other, and leaned in for one more quick kiss.

"Now," Sarah said, "what am I supposed to do about clothes?" She looked down at her sleep-rumpled sweater and pants. "The future Queen can't walk around looking like this!"

He secretly thought she looked quite adorable, but out loud he said, "We can take care of that." With a wave of his hand, Sarah found herself wearing the same clothes, but they were fresh and unwrinkled, and her hair was shining and brushed. "Wow, I could get used to this," she joked.

He smiled at her. "You will," he replied.

"Do you know where Hoggle and Ludo and Sir Didymus are? How do I get to them?" she asked.

He had used magic to summon them right after she told him she wanted to see them, and he told her that. "They should arrive shortly. We can go into the throne room to wait." He led her down the same hall he'd traveled that morning, noticing how much cleaner it was now. He smiled; the goblins must have caught wind of the fact that Sarah was here. Although the king had never said so, they knew of her importance. Rather than facing his wrath, they had done their best to clean up their messes. Jareth appreciated their efforts.

He and Sarah entered the throne room just as Hoggle arrived. When she saw him walk in the door, she cried, "Hoggle!" and ran over to him, dropping to her knees to envelope him in a hug. "Oh, Hoggle, I missed you! Please forgive me for not staying in touch!"

Hoggle looked embarrassed at Sarah's display of affection, but he put up with it as he replied, "We missed ya too, Sarah. I understand about ya not keepin' in touch, we all do." As he spoke, the rest of Sarah's friends arrived, and she jumped up to hug them all.

"Feel free to use any part of the castle, or the grounds, for your visit," Jareth spoke up. Sarah smiled at him gratefully. "I'll find you when you're done, Sarah," he said, and left her to enjoy the company of the friends she hadn't seen in so long


	30. a dinnertime surprise

Ch 31

Sarah had a delightful time with her friends. They wandered around the castle grounds for awhile before settling themselves in the garden. Sarah brought them up to date on her life, and they filled her in on what had been happening Underground. They all forgave her for not keeping in touch, and it warmed Sarah's heart how nice they were being to her. They were even supportive of her decision to marry Jareth. "I knew it was coming, milady!" Sir Didymus said without surprise, and the others agreed. "We always knew ya'd come back," Hoggle added.

They sat and talked for hours, and the time flew by like only minutes had passed. Sarah hated to see them go, but it was time for them to head home. Sarah walked them back through the castle, and turned to them as they reached the main entrance.

"Thank you all for being here for me. It means a lot to me to have you as my friends, and I'm glad we had this afternoon to catch up on everything." She felt incredibly light-hearted; she hadn't realized how much she'd missed her friends until she saw them, and she vowed to never lose touch with them again.

She reached up and hugged Ludo, burying her head in his furry chest as he awkwardly patted her back. "Bye, Sawah," he said.

"Good-bye, Ludo, thank you for coming today."

She knelt down next to embrace Sir Didymus, thanking him for his vows to keep her safe as long as she stayed in the Labyrinth. "I'm glad you came today," she told him.

Finally she turned to Hoggle. Although she loved all her friends dearly, Hoggle had a special place in her heart. "Hoggle…" she began, "just…thank you, for everything. Thank you for being my friend." With that, she wrapped her arms around the little man and hugged him tight, slightly surprised to feel him return the hug. He wasn't usually one for displays of affection. When Sarah pulled away, he smiled at her. "Remember, Sarah, should ya need us…"

Sarah smiled back at him. "I remember, Hoggle. Don't worry-I'll call." With that, her friends headed out the door, back to their everyday lives. She stared after them until she couldn't see them anymore.

"I was beginning to think they'd never leave," she heard Jareth say. Startle, she whirled around to face him, and saw that he was teasing. "I missed you," he said with a grin, pulling her into his arms. She returned the embrace, lying her head against his shoulder.

"Thank you for bringing them here, Jareth. I hadn't realized until I saw them how much I needed them." She tilted her face up to his for a kiss. They stood like that for a moment, their lips locked together, savoring the feeling of being together.

"I know you did, love," Jareth finally replied when they broke the kiss. "I would do anything for you. I love you, and I want you to be happy."

She smiled happily, knowing she would do the same for him, and he saw that in her eyes. "I love you, Jareth," she said, then her stomach growled loudly. "Not again!" she said, telling her stomach to shut up. "I guess I forgot to have lunch today, we were so busy talking."

"That's not hard to fix, Herma just finished preparing dinner. That's actually why I came to find you," he replied, leading the way to the dining room.

When they entered, Sarah was surprised to see Julie and Bayron at the table, already eating. "Is she well enough to be out of bed?" Sarah whispered to Jareth, worried that her friend might still be too sick to be up.

"She's fine," Jareth assured her. "Neela and Shira spent most of the day with her, and they say she is almost completely well."

Sarah was relieved; finally, things could get back to normal. She smiled at the thought. _Well, as normal as can be when you and your best friend are in love with immortal kings from a magical land!_

"Julie, I'm so happy that you're better!" Sarah exclaimed as she and Jareth approached the table, sitting across from Julie and Bayron.

Julie smiled at Sarah, her eyes shining. "Yeah, well, apparently you get better a lot faster in magic fairylands than in normal hospitals." She looked like she had adjusted well to her surroundings, and she had. Julie was a person who just rolled with the punches, and she had decided not to question too much. She loved Bayron, and she trusted him, and she was willing to accept anything for him.

Perceptively, Sarah saw all of that in Julie's eyes, and she couldn't have felt happier. She loved Jareth, Julie loved Bayron, and things were looking up for both of them. So much had already happened that Sarah just knew fate wouldn't be so cruel as to play any more jokes on them. At least, she hoped not.

She put that thought out of her mind as she dug into the steaming dinner Herma had set down in front of her. It was delicious, and she ate hungrily.

When her hunger was somewhat sated, she looked over at Julie and Bayron. "So, I don't mean to pry or anything, but what are you two planning on doing? I mean, about being with each other?"

"I want to stay here," Julie said without having to think about it. Seeing the surprise on Bayron's face, she rushed on, "I mean, only if you want me too, I only want to be here if you want me to stay. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that without talking to you first, but I-" She was cut off as Bayron kissed her.

"Julie, love, of course I want you to stay! I love you, and you don't know how happy that makes me." His face was shining with joy, but it faded a bit as he realized what they were saying. "Julie, I don't know how to tell you this, but it's impossible for you to just stay here."

Julie frowned, hurt. "What do you mean, it's impossible? I'm here right now, aren't I?"

Bayron shook his head. "This is different, you were brought here under extreme circumstances. As it is, you can't stay here much longer."

Now Julie felt close to tears. "So what exactly are you saying?" she asked, trying to keep the tears out of her voice.

Bayron cursed under his breath. This wasn't how he wanted this moment to be, but he had to do it before he got Julie even more upset. "Julie, you don't understand. It's forbidden for humans to visit the Underground, or to live here, except under very special circumstances.You already know a few of those circumstances, like Sarah's journey through the Labyrinth and you being brought here to get well. But, for a human to live here, it's different. A mortal can only visit or live here if they are married to Fae nobility, or related to a mortal who married into nobility. Julie, I want you to stay here more than anything, but something would have to change between us for that to happen." He paused for a moment to see if Julie understood where this was going.

She did, and she was grinning. "Bayron, is this little speech gonna end with you asking me to marry you?"

Bayron smiled back at her, wishing he could have done this a different way, but trying to make the most of the moment. "Yes, darling, it is. Julie, I have fallen completely and hopelessly in love with you, I think I fell in love the moment I saw you. Nothing would make me happier than you agreeing to marry me and live with me, here, forever."

Julie laughed as tears of joy fell out of her eyes. "Oh Bayron, I love you too! I never thought it was in me to fall in love with a man, but I do love you, and I want to marry you and stay here with you and live happily ever after!" She fell into his open arms and held him tight, as he gently lifted her face up to his, and then they were lost in each other. They had completely forgotten that they had an audience.

Sarah and Jareth were staring at the happy couple, unable to believe what had just happened.

"I certainly wasn't expecting that," Sarah said, trying to absorb the fact that she and her best friend were now both to marry men from the Underground.

Jareth, however, had had a feeling thatthis was coming. He knew his friend well, and he knew that Bayron would do anything to keep Julie with him. He hadn't expected it to happen over his dinner table, any more than Bayron had, but he was glad it had happened. His friend was a good man, and he deserved happiness.

Jareth stood up quietly, and motioned for Sarah to follow him. As they left the dining room, he explained, "We should let them have some privacy." Sarah agreed, and he took her hand and led her down the hall to where they could finally have some privacy of their own.


	31. some after dinner conversation

Ch 32

Jareth took Sarah to a living room connected to his bedroom. They settled next to each other in a big, comfortable black couch.

"I don't know what to think about Julie and Bayron," Sarah told Jareth. "I mean, I'm truly happy for them, Julie deserves someone like him. But it's all so sudden…I don't know. I guess it's really not my business, is it? They're happy and that's all that counts." Plus, she recalled how thrilled for her Julie had been when Sarah told her of her engagement. Yes, Julie deserved nothing but her support and happiness, and that was what she was going to give her.

Jareth had taken a hold of her hand, and he was rubbing it gently. "That's true, love. They're happy, and I'm glad for them. And not to sound selfish," he said with a smile, "but now she's okay and they're happy, we can finally get back to us."

Sarah nodded her agreement as she snuggled up closer to Jareth, laying her head on his shoulder. "Mmmm," she sighed. "You're right. So much has happened, it seems like years ago that you even asked me to marry you." Speaking of his proposal sent her mind in a different direction, and she thought of Merelinda. Thinking of the beautiful mermaid made Sarah's heart sink a little. Even though she knew they didn't love each other, and their engagement was almost over, Sarah was still a little bit jealous. Merelinda was so incredibly beautiful, and what if she decided she wanted to marry Jareth after all? How could Jareth say no to someone like her?

"Love? What are you thinking about?" Jareth asked, sensing her mood change.

Sarah sighed. She didn't really want to be thinking about Merelinda right now, there was so much else she and Jareth could be talking about. But now that the thought was in her mind, she knew she couldn't let it go.

"I was thinking about you and Merelinda," she told him honestly. "I know you explained it all to me, and said I have nothing to worry about, but, there are so many 'what if's'," Sarah said. "I mean, what if she decides she wants to marry you after all? What if something suddenly changes in her screwed-up laws that makes her need to marry you? What if-"

Jareth shushed her, putting a finger up to her lips. "Sarah, my love, I swear to you, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Merelinda has never felt more for me than friendship, and she never will. The same goes for me. You are the one I love, Sarah. As for the laws of the Merfolk, well, you needn't worry about them changing; they've remained the same for many millennia. And even if the rules did change, or Merelinda did want to marry me, I wouldn't do it."

Sarah looked at him in surprise. "You wouldn't?"

He laughed. "No, of course not. Sarah, it's simple. I don't love Merelinda, but I do love you. You are the only one I want to spend my life with, and if it ever came down to breaking my word with Merelinda, well, I would do that for you."

Sarah looked at him gratefully. "Thank you Jareth, it means a lot to me to hear you say that. And hopefully, if what you say is true, it won't ever be an issue."

"I can assure you it won't be," he said to her. A thought occurred to him, one he wasn't sure how she would react to. "Sarah, would you like to meet Merelinda?"

Sarah was quiet for a moment. She had never thought about actually meeting the woman who had asked Jareth to marry her. Now she knew it was silly of her; after all, Merelinda was one of Jareth's closest friends, and if Sarah was to marry Jareth, of course she should meet all his friends.

"Okay," Sarah said finally. "I can't say I'm jumping for joy at the prospect of meeting her, but she's really done nothing wrong, so I suppose I can't put off seeing her. If anything, meeting her should put my mind at ease."

Jareth let out a sigh of relief. He was grateful that Sarah could be so understanding and mature about this. "It's too late to see her tonight, but I will arrange for a visit tomorrow." He kissed Sarah on the forehead. "I'm sure you'll enjoy it, the kingdom of the Merfolk is unbelievably beautiful."

"Wait," Sarah said, realizing what he'd said. "Merelinda is a mermaid, right?" Jareth nodded, and she went on. "So I'm assuming that their kingdom isn't on land?" Jareth laughed, understanding what she was getting at.

"No, love, it's completely underwater, at the bottom of the Sea of Serenity, to be exact. But don't worry, you'll be fine during the visit." Seeing her confusion, he smiled. "You'll just have to wait and see for yourself."

Mystified, she let it go. "Okay then." She absently played with a strand of Jareth's fluffy blond hair. "How long am I able to stay here?" she asked. She knew she should go home soon, at least to talk to her parents, but she really just wanted to stay here.

"Not much longer, unfortunately," Jareth said with regret. "Since we aren't yet married, you'll have to go home no later than tomorrow night." He had been trying not to think about that; he was enjoying having Sarah in the castle with him.

Sarah was disappointed, but understanding. "Well then, I don't want to waste any time talking about me leaving. Let's talk about how happy I am that you came back into my life."

He smiled, saying, "I would love to talk about that. So tell me, just how happy are you to have stolen the heart of the Goblin King?"

She grinned back at him. "I'm the happiest girl in the world. If anyone had told me a week ago that today, I'd be in your arms, engaged to you, I would have laughed in their face. I've loved you for so many years, but I'd given up hope of ever seeing you again. I had convinced myself it was better to forget you, but I never could. I wish we hadn't had to spend the last ten years apart, but I'm truly grateful for the chance to make it up now." She paused. "I love you Jareth, and I can't wait to spend forever with you."

His heart warmed at her words. He would never tire of hearing Sarah profess her love for him, and he was eternally grateful to the fates for seeing it necessary to bring them together once again. Suddenly, his thoughts left him as Sarah pressed her lips against his in a deep kiss, and he could think of nothing more than how good she tasted, how wonderful it felt to have her body pressed against his, how great it felt to have her arms around him. Then he thought of nothing more as he completely surrendered himself to the kiss.


	32. preparing for the visit

Ch 33

Jareth and Sarah stayed there for the rest of the evening, just talking and kissing and enjoying each others company. Eventually, Sarah began yawning and her eyelids drooped.

"Getting tired, my love?" Jareth asked softly, gently tracing the outline of her face with his fingers.

She almost said no, because she wanted to stay there with him longer, but she yawned again, and couldn't deny how tired she was.

"Yeah," she admitted, "I'm exhausted." She leaned heavily against him and shut her eyes.

"Shall I have a room set up for you, or are you okay with sleeping in my bed?" Jareth asked her. He hoped she wouldn't object to staying in his bed, because he loved sleeping and waking up next to her.

"No, that's silly, your room is right here, and I already slept there last night. And I don't really want my own room." She smiled sleepily at him.

"I'm glad," he whispered to her, and with that, he carefully picked her up and carried her to his room.

"Jareth!" she laughed, "I can walk myself, you know!" But she rather liked having him carry her; it made her feel safe somehow.

He set her gently down on the bed. With a wave of his hand, she was wearing soft flannel pajamas. "Hmm, very sexy," she murmured, looking down at herself.

Jareth smiled. He'd chosen those pajamas for Sarah precisely because they weren't sexy. If he was to sleep next to her, and not do anything more, he needed her completely covered up. He discovered, however, that somehow Sarah looked even sexier in simple flannel pajamas.

He went to the other side of the bed and climbed in next to her. She was already drifting off as he wrapped his arms around her. "I love you," she said, so softly he had to strain to hear. He kissed the back of her head. "I love you, too, darling." He closed his eyes, and let the quiet sounds of Sarah's slow breaths lull him to sleep.

The next morning, Sarah woke up before Jareth. She turned over to look at him, and the sight made her smile. His wild blond hair was spread out over the pillow, and his mouth was wide open. He looked completely gorgeous.

As if he felt her stare, his eyes opened. "Good morning, beautiful," he said sleepily. She leaned down and kissed his nose. "Good morning to you." He reached up and grabbed her waist, pulling her down on top of him. They laid like that for a moment, Sarah with her head on his shoulder, then he said, "We'd better get up soon if we're to visit the Merfolk Kingdom."

Sarah grimaced. She'd momentarily forgotten about their plans for the day, and although she was looking forward to visiting a city of mermaids, she wasn't looking forward to meeting Jareth's other fiancée. She smiled inwardly at that thought, but that's what Merelinda was, and try as she might, Sarah couldn't escape a small twinge of jealousy.

Jareth was oblivious to her thoughts as he got out of bed. "I'm going to take a shower, if you'd like to shower as well, you can use the bathroom across the hall."

Sarah was a little surprised that they had showers here, but then, how had she expected them to get clean?

Jareth had closed the door to the bathroom, but he opened it again. "Sarah, I almost forgot, look in the wardrobe, you should be able to find something acceptable to wear in there." He smiled at her and shut the door again.

Curious, Sarah opened the door to the wardrobe and gasped. There must have been dozens of gowns in there, all very beautiful, and they looked to be her size. She rifled through them, and came out with a sleeveless blue dress, made out of a soft material like cotton, but it was something she'd never seen before. She saw rows of shoes in the bottom of the wardrobe, and picked out a pair of dark blue sandals to wear with the dress. "What do I do about underwear?" she asked herself. She opened a few drawers in the wardrobe, until she found a drawer full of underwear. She blushed, imagining Jareth putting these here for her, then she snatched a pair out of the drawer and slammed it shut.

She gathered the clothing and carried it across the hall, where she walked into the most beautiful bathroom she'd ever seen. It had a light stone floor and walls, with a huge mirror above a double sink. Plants were everywhere, and there was a huge sunken bathtub, as well as a large shower stall.

She looked longingly at the bathtub, but didn't have the time for a nice long soak. She undressed and stepped into the shower, and she gasped as the shower turned on by itself. But the water was steamy and warm, and she stayed in longer than she meant to.

She hurriedly dried off and got dressed, wondering what to do with her wet, tangled hair. She couldn't find a comb anywhere, and finally just left it as it was, hoping it would dry okay.

She met Jareth back in the bedroom, where he had just finished dressing. "Ah, you picked the dress I hoped you would," he said, looking her over appreciatively. "It looks great on you."

"Thanks," Sarah said. "You look pretty good yourself." And he did, dressed in his standard tight pants, high black boots and loose shirt.

He smiled as he took her by the arm and led her to the dining room so they could have a quick breakfast. They met Julie and Bayron on the way.

"Hey, Julie! Congratulations, I'm so happy for you and Bayron!" Sarah exclaimed as she gave her friend a hug. "Sorry we just left you last night, but we figured you wanted to be alone."

Julie winked. "Oh yeah we did, and we made the most of it too!" Sarah laughed and shook her head, glad to see Julie back to normal.

"So when are you going to get married?" Sarah asked as they all sat down at the dining room table.

"Well," Julie said with a gleam in her eyes, "we were actually thinking tomorrow sounds good." She could see Sarah's surprise, and added, "Why should we wait? We love each other. I have nothing at home I need to go back for; I don't have any family, so we figured we might as well do it, that way I can stay here for good."

Sarah gave Julie another hug. "That's great, Jules, I'm glad you're so happy." She was worried, though; Jareth had said she had to go home tonight, but she didn't want to miss her friends wedding.

Jareth was quick to reassure her. "Don't worry, Sarah, I'm sure I can arrange for you to stay an extra day. After all, it's not like you're any old visitor-you're the future Queen."

Sarah smiled at him. "Thank you." She turned her attention to her breakfast, the others chatting around her. Her thoughts turned to that day's visit to Merelinda, and she couldn't help being somewhat nervous about what events the day would bring.

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**A/N**: That chapter was for you, SnapeMoment! Thank you for reading, I'm glad you like it. I have ten more chapters ready, but I'm trying not to post them all at once, I want to drag it out a little bit! So thank you to everyone who is reading this, and extra thanks to those of you who reviewd cause I would have stopped a long time ago if no one reviewed! So thanks and enjoy!


	33. magic bubbles

Ch 34

Breakfast was over, and Sarah had said good bye to Julie, briefly explaining where she was going. Julie's eyes had widened, but she'd simply said, "Good luck." Sarah promised to spend some time talking with her later tonight, and then she and Jareth were off.

She'd expected him to just snap his fingers or something and magically make them appear at the Sea of Serenity, but Jareth led her to a stable behind the castle. He saw the question on her face and said, "I figured this way would be better, because now you can get a look at some of my kingdom."

"Is it much bigger than what I've seen?" Sarah asked as he led two beautiful black horses out of the stable.

"Yes, love, much. The Labyrinth is only a small part of my kingdom," he replied. He helped Sarah onto one of the horses. She was a little nervous, since she hadn't been riding in years. But luckily she still knew what to do, and in no time was at ease on top of the magnificent animal.

They started off slowly, with Jareth pointing out different spots of interest to her. Gradually, they picked up the pace, and were soon racing over fields of flowers. Soon, Sarah could see a glittering body of water in the distance. "Is that it?" she called to Jareth. He nodded, and they were soon approaching the lake. They slowed the horses, and after Jareth dismounted, he helped Sarah down. She looked around.

"This is the lake? It doesn't look like a kingdom," she said. Although the lake was very beautiful; the water was crystal clear and almost seemed to shimmer, and Sarah could see strange, brightly-colored fish swimming lazily through the water.

"The kingdom is at the bottom of the lake, remember, that's where the true beauty is," Jareth told her.

"So…now what?" Sarah asked. "How do we get down there? I'm assuming it's nothing as normal as scuba-diving we're going to be doing?"

He grinned at her. "No, it's not." He then closed his eyes, looking like he was concentrating hard. After a moment, a head popped above the water. It belonged to a beautiful young mermaid, Sarah saw. The mermaid glanced around, and spotted Jareth and Sarah.

"You're Majesty! We've been expecting you!" The mermaid made her way over the shore, and as she emerged from the water, her shiny green tail faded into human legs, clad in a flowing skirt.

"Mariella! It's good to see you," Jareth told her, giving her a quick hug. He turned to Sarah. "Sarah, this is Mariella. She's Merelinda's sister, and sort of the 'unofficial' greeter to visitors of their kingdom. I called her to help us down to the city."

Mariella smiled at Sarah. "So you're Sarah? My, we've heard so much about you, I feel like I already know you!" Sarah couldn't help but like her, she was so friendly. "Yes, I'm Sarah, it's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Mariella replied, her electric blue eyes sparkling. "Are you two ready to go down to the city?"

"Yes, we are," Jareth replied.

"What about the horses"? Sarah asked, worried that they would wander off.

"They'll be fine right here," Jareth assured her. He turned to Mariella. "We're ready when you are."

Mariella magically produced two silver seashells, which she then tossed at Sarah and Jareth. When the seashells hit them, they dissolved, much like Jareth's crystals. Except the seashells left a strange bubble-like structure around them. Sarah spread out her arms, trying to touch the clear layer that surrounded her, but she found that as she moved, the bubble stretched with her.

"That shield will protect you while you're underwater," Mariella explained to Sarah. "You'll be able to breathe, speak, touch things, and swim like you normally would." She shot a worried glance to Sarah. "You can swim, can't you?" she asked.

"Yes, I actually love to swim," Sarah reassured her. "Although I never imagined I'd ever go swimming with a magic air bubble around me."

Mariella laughed, a musical sound, and motioned for them to follow her. She waded into the water and turned, waiting for them to follow. Jareth raised his eyebrows at Sarah. "Are you ready, love?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," she replied, feeling butterflies in her stomach.

He reached out his hand to her, and she took it, with the strange feeling of the magic shield between them. Then they followed Mariella into the water. Mariella suddenly dove underwater, her legs transforming back into a shining aqua tail. Sarah took a deep breath, then she and Jareth dove underwater to follow.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**A/N**: Lady of the Labyrinth, I just wanted to say that I don't think I'm very good at angst :-( But I can try to put more in if you want it! I aim to please! It might not be for a little while though cause I have lots of chapters already written. But I'll do my best! Thank you for reading!


	34. the other woman

Ch 35

At first, Sarah held her breath, not trusting the bubble around her to keep the water out. But when her lungs started burning, she gulped in a deep breath, fully expecting water to rush into her lungs. She was grateful to suck in only air. She swam gracefully, marveling at theodd feeling of having the air bubble around her, but still feeling the water. It was a strange sensation.

She glanced over at Jareth. When he saw her looking, he grinned and did an underwater somersault. She laughed and did the same. It was a marvelous experience, being able to breath underwater.

She looked around her, in awe at the marine life that surrounded her. There were species of fish that were indescribable, as they were found nowhere on Earth. The water was perfectly clear, and she could see Mariella swimming far below them. Sarah and Jareth swam faster, so they didn't lose her. Sarah was worried she would get tired quickly, but she didn't seem to feel winded at all.

Soon Mariella slowed, and Sarah and Jareth caught up to her. Sarah was almost awestruck at how beautiful the mermaid looked, with her glittery tail and flowing white-blond hair. She moved so gracefully through the water, and she made Sarah feel awkward.

"We're almost there," she informed them. "Stay close to me," she warned. "There are sometimes sea serpents around here. They're usually harmless, but they can give you quite a fright if they sneak up on you."

Sarah felt a flutter of fear, and moved closer to Mariella. Of course there had to be sea serpents, she thought. She wasn't fond of anything serpent-like, and she prayed that they would stay away.

They continued swimming down, far below the surface of the lake, but somehow the water remained clear and bright. Soon, Sarah could see shapes glittering down below. As they moved closer, she saw that the shapes were strangely beautiful buildings, built with no ceilings. They were many different colors, and some of them even seemed to gradually change colors. Merfolk were swimming all around, and they entered and exited the buildings through the roof. Jareth had been right; this place was beautiful, and Sarah looked around in wonder.

"This way," Mariella said over her shoulder. "Merelinda's waiting for you in her private chambers."

Mariella led them to a large, rounded building that shimmered from blue to green to pink and back again. They entered through a large opening on the side, about halfway up the building. Inside, there was a maze of strange hallways, that all seemed to end in empty water-filled rooms. They came to a large room with a domed ceiling, where a mermaid with long raven-black hair saw them enter and swam rapidly over to them.

"Jareth!" she cried, throwing her arms around him. "I haven't seen you in so long, I've missed you!" He hugged her back, then turned to Sarah.

"Sarah, I would like you to meet my good friend Merelinda. Merelinda, this is Sarah, the one I've told you about." Jareth smiled as Sarah flushed. It seemed everyone knew about her, but she didn't know anything about anyone.

Merelinda looked at Sarah and seemed to be thinking. Finally, she broke into a wide smile. "It's lovely to finally meet you, Sarah. I've heard so much about you over the years, I feel like I know you already."

"That's what Mariella said," Sarah told her with a small smile. Merelinda seemed nice enough, but Sarah still wasn't sure how she felt about her.

"Well, it's true," Merelinda said, her eyes sparkling. She was truly beautiful, Sarah thought enviously. Her long, blue-black hair complimented her deeply tanned skin. She had vivid, emerald green eyes that almost seemed to glow when she smiled. And her tail was a glittery, two-toned blue green. Sarah felt completely dowdy next to her.

Mariella swam off, calling over shoulder that she had some things to take care of. She waved goodbye, and Sarah waved back.

Merelinda motioned for them to follow her. They swam to a room that they had to climb out of the water to get to. As soon as Sarah stepped into it, her bubble popped. She panicked for a second, then realized that the room was filled with air.

"This is the room I use to entertain my land-dwelling guests," Merelinda explained. Her tail had become two human legs, and she was clad in a flowing skirt much like Mariella's. She took a seat on a normal-looking couch, and Jareth and Sarah sat down on the loveseat across from her.

"So," Merelinda said to Sarah, "I assume Jareth has told you of our…situation?"

Sarah shifted uncomfortably. "Yes, he has."

"Sarah has been quite understanding of the whole situation," Jareth added. "I'm very lucky."

Merelinda smiled at Sarah. "I imagine meeting me is rather strange for you, isn't it?" Sarah hesitated, then nodded. Merelinda continued. "I understand, dear. I would feel quite uncomfortable if I were in your shoes. I hear Jareth has asked you to be his wife?"

Sarah nodded again. "Well, just please be assured that I wish you nothing but happiness," Merelinda told her. "Jareth and I have been friends for as long as I can remember, and he is like my brother. I have no intentions of actually marrying him. I just want to make sure you completely understand that."

Sarah could tell she was being sincere, and almost against her will, she found herself liking Merelinda. "Thank you," she said simply, and Merelinda nodded. "Now, I have some news that I'm sure you will both find pleasing," she said to them both.

"What is it?" Jareth asked curiously. He always knew first what was happening in the Underground, and he hadn't heard any rumors of any sort, so he had no idea what kind of news Merelinda could tell them.

"Well," she began, "my father has been offered a position on the High Council in our sister city, in the Sea of Tranquility. He was dreading having nothing to do with his time once he passed me the throne, so he immediately accepted the offer. However, they need him immediately, so he is leaving next week." She paused. "That means he is stepping down as king sooner than expected, and the ceremony to induct me as Queen will be held next week, instead of a month from now." She smiled at Jareth. "So as of this time next week, our engagement will officially be over."

Jareth smiled back at her. "That's wonderful news, Merelinda. I know you've been excited about becoming Queen, and I'm glad it's happening so soon. I must admit, though, that I am also glad for purely selfish reasons." He looked at Sarah. "I want nothing more than to marry you, Sarah, and I hope it's okay with you if we move up the wedding."

Sarah was grinning. "Are you crazy? Of course I don't mind!" Jareth leaned over and kissed her, glad everything was going so well.

Merelinda's eyes were shining. "I'm so happy for you, Jareth. You too, Sarah. Jareth has been in love with you for so long, and it will be wonderful to see you two getting married." She came over to Jareth and gave him a tight hug, then surprised Sarah by giving her one too. "I know you two will be very happy together."

Sarah smiled at her, wondering how she could have ever dreaded meeting this woman. "Thank you, I know how highly Jareth thinks of you, and I'm glad we have your blessing."

Merelinda smiled back at her. She was sure Sarah had been nervous about meeting her, and she couldn't blame her. If she had been in Sarah's shoes, she wasn't sure she would have handled the situation with as much grace, and she admired Sarah for it. She wanted to do her best to make her feel comfortable. "I know you'll be good to him; I can sense that you have a kind heart. I think you're just the kind of woman the cold, cruel Goblin King needs." She was smiling as she said it, because all three of them knew the true Jareth, the one who was kind and warm.

Sarah was relaxed now, and she settled back on the loveseat, eager to learn more about the Merfolk. She started asking Merelinda questions, and before long, they were deep in conversation.

Jareth watched them, happy this had gone so well. Merelinda was very dear to him, and he was glad that his friend and future wife were getting along so well. It was a definite weight off his shoulders, and he leaned back to enjoy the rest of their visit.

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**A/N: **Thanks again for the reviews, especially you **Saffy **and **SnapeMoment**! I appreciate it, and I'm glad you like it. If anyone has any suggestions for me to improve this, please, let me know. Like I said before, this is my first story, and I'm always ready for improvement. Thanks a bunch!


	35. the end of a good day

Ch 36

The hours flew by, and before Sarah knew it, it was time to leave. She was disappointed; she'd ended up truly liking Merelinda, and she was enjoying their visit. But Merelinda had other things she needed to do, and regretfully, she told them she had to end the visit.

"Thank you both so much for coming," Merelinda said to them as they stood up. To Sarah, she said, "I'm glad I had the chance to meet you, and I hope we continue to be friends."

"I'd like that," Sarah told her. "I had a good time today, thanks for having us." Merelinda gave Sarah another hug, then hugged Jareth. He gave her a small kiss on the cheek. "It was lovely seeing you, as always. You'll be attending Bayron's wedding tomorrow, won't you?""

"I wouldn't miss it," Merelinda smiled. "I'll call Mariella to lead you two back to the surface." Merelinda concentrated for a moment, then produced two silver seashells, just like Mariella had. With a quick toss, the shells transformed into the waterproof shields once more.

Mariella appeared at the doorway. "Are you two ready to go?" They nodded, and with a final good-bye to Merelinda, they headed back into the sea.

They swam quickly through the city, and as just as they were reaching the city limits, Sarah saw something out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh shit!" she cried as she realized what it was. What looked like a giant brown snake was quickly gliding through the water, straight towards them. "What the hell is that?"

She swam quickly to get closer to Jareth.

"It's a sea serpent," Mariella, eyeing the creature cautiously. It had slowed down, and was now lazily circling around them. "Don't worry, they're usually harmless."

"Usually?" Sarah asked worriedly. It was just her luck. She hated snakes with a passion, and now she was about to get eaten by a giant one. Couldn't anything here just go well?

Luckily, the sea serpent seemed to lose interest in them, and it drifted away, soon disappearing into the depths of the sea.

Sarah breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the retreating creature. "Thank god," she said softly. Jareth heard her and smiled reassuringly.

"I told you they're harmless," Mariella said with a grin.

"Yeah, well, with my luck lately, I was sure it was going to have me for lunch," Sarah said, making Mariella laugh.

The rest of their trip to the surface was blessedly uneventful, and soon they emerged from the water, their bubbles popping. Mariella stayed in the water. "It was good to see you again, Jareth. And it was nice to meet you," she said to Sarah. With a quick wave, she dove under the water and quickly disappeared down below.

Sarah glanced around the shore, and saw their two horses calmly munching on some grass. Jareth looked at her. "I told you they'd be fine." She stuck her tongue out at him and laughed at the expression on his face. It felt good to be goofy; she'd been so tense before meeting Merelinda, and it felt good to let that tension go.

Jareth ran after her, and caught her up in his arms. Laughing, they fell to the ground, wrapped in each other's arms. They lay next to each other, staring up at the clouds, and just enjoying being with each other. After a few passionate kisses, Jareth regretfully pulled away. "It's time to be heading back, love."

She sighed, not wanting to get up; it was so peaceful out here, and she was enjoying herself. But Jareth grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet. He gave her one more kiss, then helped her mount her horse. Jareth climbed up onto his own horse, and then they were off, galloping through the countryside.

By the time they reached the castle, it was early evening. Sarah waited while Jareth settled the horses back in their stable, then they headed inside for dinner.

Once again, Julie and Bayron were seated at the table when they walked in.

"Perfect timing," Bayron said with a grin. He and Jareth fell into conversation, leaving Julie staring at Sarah expectantly.

"Well?" she asked impatiently.

"Well what?" Sarah replied innocently, knowing full well that Julie wanted all the details of her visit to Merelinda.

"Stop being an ass and tell me how it went!" Julie was definitely back to her old self.

"It was a lot better than I expected," Sarah told her. "I actually wound up liking Merelinda a lot. And guess what? Merelinda is going to become the new queen next week instead of next month, so Jareth and I can get married even sooner!"

"Hey, that's great, Sar!" Julie said, flashing her friend a smile. "Now, I'm not trying to steal your thunder or anything, but I _am _getting married tomorrow, and I'd like to talk to my best friend about it!"

Sarah felt guilty for not asking about Julie's wedding sooner, and she gladly turned her attention over to her friend. Throughout dinner, the two women discussed every last detail of the wedding. Although having attendants wasn't usually done in Underground weddings, Julie was adamant about having Sarah as her maid of honor, and Bayron had said it was okay.

"We were hoping Jareth would agree to marry us," Julie said, glancing at Jareth.

"I already asked him," Bayron said with a grin. "He said he'd gladly marry us, as long as I return the favor for him and Sarah."

Julie was glad Jareth had agreed, because she knew it meant a lot to Bayron. "Thanks, Jareth," she told him.

"You're most welcome," he replied with a grin, then he and Bayron continued their conversation.

Julie looked at Sarah. "So when are you going to plan everything about your wedding?"

"Well," Sarah mused, "I suppose we'd better get everything taken care of soon, we only have a week! We've already talked a lot about what we want, and I think we should have everything worked out. But for now, let's just concentrate on getting you married- I never in a million years thought I'd see you walk down the aisle! This is so exciting."

Julie's eyes were shining. "I know, I never thought I'd get married either. But there was just something about him…he completely swept me off my feet, and I love him with all my heart."

They continued discussing Julie's wedding until dinner was over. Then Julie and Bayron retired to their room, claiming to have a lot to talk about, but Sarah knew better. She laughed as they practically ran down the hall, their arms around each other. She was truly glad her friend had found someone to make her so happy.

Sarah and Jareth decided to turn in early; they were both exhausted after their trip underwater today, and Sarah wanted to get plenty of rest for Julie's big day tomorrow. Sarah and Jareth cuddled under the blankets, and they started to drift off to sleep quickly. Sarah's last thought before she fell asleep was that she couldn't wait until it was her big day, and she fell asleep with a smile on her face.


	36. off to see the labyrinth

Ch 37

When Sarah woke up the next morning, she slowly stretched and looked over at Jareth to see he was already awake and looking at her. She smiled. "Good morning."

"Good morning, my love," Jareth smiled back. He hated to have to get up; Sarah would have to leave tonight, and he would miss having her next to him when he woke up.

Sarah was thinking the same thing, but she tried not to dwell on it. Today was Julie's wedding day, and she wanted to focus her energy on that.

After Sarah and Jareth had both showered, they headed down the hall for breakfast. As they passed Julie and Bayron's room, Sarah was surprised to see it empty; all of Bayron's things were gone.

"Where'd they go? Did they leave?" Sarah asked.

"Yes, they went to Bayron's home sometime late last night. Since that is where the wedding will be held, Bayron wanted to be there to oversee everything."

"Oh." Julie hadn't mentioned leaving to Sarah, and she was a little disappointed that she wouldn't get to see her until the wedding.

"The dress you are to wear in the wedding will arrive sometime this afternoon, and I can have one of the maids help you to get ready, if you wish."

"That would be great," Sarah replied. Herma came out of the kitchen with their breakfast, and carefully set the plates down. Sarah smiled at her. "Thank you, Herma, it looks delicious."

Herma looked flustered, and she quickly curtsied as she replied, "Thank you, milady." She then hurried back to the kitchen with Sarah grinning after her. She liked the little goblin.

"So," she said to Jareth, "will everything be okay, with us moving up the wedding?" She hoped it wouldn't be a lot of trouble.

"Yes, everything will be fine," he assured her. "I don't know if I mentioned this before, but Underground weddings are considered private affairs, and it's unusual to have many guests, usually only family and extremely close friends. So that's one thing in our favor-at least invitations hadn't already been sent to hundreds of people!"

Sarah agreed, then asked, "What about my wedding dress?"

Jareth smiled. "Ah, the dress. Don't worry, love, I promise you it will be finished in plenty of time."

"Why aren't you just, zapping it up or something with magic?" Sarah asked curiously.

Jareth laughed at her description of magic before answering her. "I suppose we could do that, my love, but there are certain things I prefer to have done the 'old-fashioned' way. I have two of my best seamstresses working on the gown, and I know they will do a marvelous job."

"Okay, then, as long as you're sure," Sarah said, trusting Jareth to make sure everything was done.

"I'm sure," he said. "Don't worry about a thing; every detail we talked aboutwill being taken care of."

They finished breakfast, and Jareth asked if she would like to explore the castle and the Labyrinth for a bit before they had to dress for Julie and Bayron's wedding. Sarah jumped at the chance. Not only did she need to learn her way around the castle, but she was curious to see more of the Labyrinth.

"After we're married, will I be able to control the Labyrinth, too?" she asked curiously.

Jareth smiled at her. "Yes, love, after we're married, you will have powers equal to mine. It'll take some time for you to get used to them, but I'm sure you'll find them amusing."

Sarah grinned, excited at the prospect of being able to do magic. "I can't wait!"

Jareth pretended to look hurt. "Ah, I see now, you only wanted to marry me for my magic!"

Sarah laughed and lightly hit his arm. "No way! I'm marrying you for your hot body!"

Jareth grinned devilishly, puffing out his chest. "Well, I guess I can understand that…it would be pretty hard to resist."

Laughing, they walked hand in hand down the hall, slowly strolling around the castle, continuously joking with each other. Suddenly Sarah stopped. She looked seriously at Jareth and said, "No, this is why I'm marrying you. Because of what we're doing right now. You make me laugh, and I have more fun with you than anyone else. I couldn't imagine wanting to be with anyone else, and I can't wait to spend forever with you. I love you." She reached up and gave him a long, slow kiss, which he was happy to return. When they parted, he grinned at her.

"Well, my love, I believe there is just enough time to show the future Queen a bit of the Labyrinth. Let's go!" And they were off to explore the place that had brought them together.


	37. a little trouble getting ready

Ch 38

Sarah was having such a good time with Jareth, and she hated it to end. But they needed to get ready for Julie's wedding, which was in less than three hours. They headed back into the castle. "I think I need to take another shower," Sarah said, wrinkling her nose. The Labyrinth wasn't exactly the cleanest place to be.

"I will as well," Jareth said, disappearing into the bathroom. Sarah headed across the hall to what she was beginning to think of as "her" bathroom and took a quick shower. She wrapped herself in a fluffy robe that she found in the bathroom closet, and went back across the hall to get ready.

She opened the door to see Jareth already dressed, looking very regal dressed all in black. He smiled at how pretty she looked, all shiny and red from the heat of the shower. He couldn't resist giving her a long, deep kiss. He held her tightly to him, gently running one hand up and down her back. Sarah sighed as they ended the kiss, rested her head against his chest. She wished it was her getting married tonight; she didn't want to have to go home and leave Jareth. Her life Aboveground already seemed so long ago. The only thing she missed was her family.

That thought led her to pull away from Jareth. "Would I be able to send my parents another crystal, just to let them know I'll be back tonight?" she asked him.

"Of course, love," he replied, and effortlessly produced a crystal ball and handed it to her. She quickly told her parents what was going on, promising to explain everything when she got home. She gave the crystal back to Jareth and he sent it off to her parents. "I really hope I'm not freaking them out more by sending them crystals," she said with a grin.

Jareth laughed. "Oh, I'm sure you are!" He leaned down and kissed her. "I'll leave you to get ready now. Your dress is hanging on the hook in the wardrobe, and I'll send in a maid to help you."

"Okay," she said, and he turned to head out the door. "Jareth?" she called.

He turned. "Yes, love?"

She smiled. "I love you."

He smiled back. "I love you too." Then he went out the door and was gone. Sarah turned her attention to getting ready. She opened up the wardrobe and saw that a beautiful, pale pink gown was hanging inside the door. Sarah gently took it off of its hanger and set it on the bed. She let the robe drop, and quickly pulled on her undergarments. Then, she lifted the dress and carefully slid it over her head. To her dismay, it got stuck halfway down her body, and she wriggled frantically, trying to get it on.

She jumped as she heard the door open, and a gasp. She heard little feet running over to her, and someone cried, "Oh, dear, you seem to have gotten yourself into a bit of a pickle!" Sarah detected a bit of laughter in the voice, and she felt rather embarrassed to be caught in this situation. Nevertheless, she obviously needed help.

Blindly, with the gown covering her head, she said, "I assume you're who Jareth sent to help me?"

"Yes, my dear," the voice replied, "I'm Helma." Sarah could feel Helma carefully adjusting the dress, and finally Sarah was free and the dress was flowing over her body.

She looked at Helma, red-faced. "Thanks," she said with a small smile. The goblin looked somewhat familiar, and Helma saw Sarah looking at her curiously.

"You have already met my sister, Herma," Helma told her. "I'm told I resemble her, although why anyone thinks I look like that wrinkly old thing, I don't know." But her eyes were sparkling, and Sarah could see she truly loved her sister. She had the feeling she'd like Helma just as much as she liked Herma.

Helma busied herself tying up the corset strings along Sarah's back. When she was finished, she hustled Sarah over to a vanity against the wall. She sat Sarah down, and began fussing over her. Sarah hid a smile as Helma fretted over how to arrange Sarah's long, shiny hair. Finally, she twisted it up in an extravagant style, leaving small wispy tendrils to float around her face.

Sarah sat very still as Helma deftly applied her makeup. Helma was very cautious, and Sarah soon grew stiff from sitting so still. Finally, Helma stood back and looked at her creation. "Finished!" she proclaimed proudly.

Sarah looked into the mirror and was surprised at how well the little goblin had made her up. With her flowing pink gown, elegant hairstyle, and soft make-up, she looked like a fairly princess. She grinned at the thought. _Well, close enough_, she said to herself.

She turned around to thank Helma. "Everything looks wonderful, Helma, thank you so much. And also, thank you for…helping me…with my situation earlier." Helma laughed at that.

"Oh, you're welcome, my dear. And I want to thank _you _for being so kind; I'm glad to see his Majesty has found the perfect woman to be his Queen." With a smile, Helma turned and left.

Sarah smiled after her. Helma was so different from her sister. She had a feeling she could end up growing quite fond of the little goblin maid. She turned to study her reflection in the mirror once again.

She was startled when the door opened, the she saw Jareth peek his head in. "Helma said you were ready," he said as he entered the room. He stopped when he saw her. "Sarah, you look absolutely breathtaking." He wanted to kiss her but he was afraid of messing her up.

Sarah smiled. "Thank you. Helma did a good job." She stood up and kissed his cheek. "How soon do we have to leave?"

"Actually, we'll have to leave now. It took you longer to get ready than I had imagined." She started to object, but saw he was joking.

"Ha ha. Beauty doesn't come easy," she teased back. Jareth smiled. "Oh, I think it does for you, darling. You're beautiful at any time of the day, regardless of what you have on."

She grinned at the compliment, and kissed his cheek again. "Come on, let's go see our best friends get married."

With that, he took her hand and transported them to Bayron's castle.


	38. julie's big moment

Ch 39

Sarah found herself standing in a large room, with windows instead of walls. The view was breathtaking; Sarah could see out for miles and miles. She moved closer to the window, trying to get a better look

Jareth stood beside her. "Beautiful, isn't it?" he asked, slipping an arm around her. She nodded, entranced with the landscape. The sky was just beginning to darken, casting violet shadows over the land.

"This place doesn't really make you eager to return to the Goblin Castle, does it?" he asked, only half serious. He had never really cared about the décor of his home, but now that Sarah was to live with him, he wished it was more like Bayron's castle.

"Oh, Jareth, it'slovely here…I love it. But there's nowhere I'd rather live than in your castle. I actually kind of like it, it's cozy." She smiled at him, earning a kiss.

"Come on, love," he said, taking her hand and leading her away from the window. "The ceremony is down here."

They walked down a short, brightly lit hallway and came to a small room. The room had light stone floors and walls, and was glowing with the rosy light of hundreds of candles. It was very elegant andbeautiful.

A large window took up most of the wall facing the door, and before it stood Bayron and Julie. When Julie saw her, she ran over to her and embraced her.

"Oh, Sarah, I'm so excited but I'm so nervous too, this is it, you know? I'm getting _married_!" She grinned at Sarah with a half ecstatic, half terrified expression.

Sarah soothed her friend. "You'll be fine, Jules. Just look at that man you're going to marry, and see how much he loves you. You two are going to be happy together, for the rest of your lives. Now go get married!"

Julie gave her one last nervous smile and went back to stand next to Bayron. There were only two other people in the room, an older looking couple who Sarah guessed correctly to be Bayron's parents. They were standing off to the side, looking proudly at their son and soon to be daughter-in-law.

"I thought Merelinda was coming," Sarah whispered to Jareth. Just as she spoke, Merelinda entered the room, looking impossibly beautiful in a loose, flowing green gown that matched her eyes. Merelinda caught her eye and smiled, then went to over to speak to Bayron and Julie for a moment.

Suddenly Bayron cleared his throat loudly. "We're ready to begin," he told the small group. He smiled broadly at Julie and took her hand.

Merelinda came over to stand next to Sarah, as Jareth walked in front of the couple. He looked at them for a moment, smiling, then began the ceremony.

"Friends and family," he began, "we're here today to celebrate something very special, something very rare, and that is the union of two people who truly love each other. Bayron and Julie have opened up their hearts to one another, and allowed each other entry into their souls. From this day forth, they shall be forever united as one."

From there, Jareth asked Julie and Bayron to exchange a simple set of vows. As was custom Underground as well as Aboveground, they each slipped a shining gold band onto each others finger. Then, before Sarah knew it, the wedding was over, and Bayron and Julie were locked in a deep kiss.

"I thought it would be more…complicated," she whispered to Merelinda, who smiled. "No, Sarah, ceremonies Underground are always fairly short. We don't drag things out like you Abovegrounders do!" Sarah grinned at her, then watched as Bayron and Julie spoke with Bayron's parents. They both embraced Julie tightly, welcoming her to the family, and Sarah was glad they seemed excited for the newlyweds.

Jareth came back over to her and casually put his arm across her shoulders. He greeted Merelinda, and watched Bayron and Julie. His friend had finally found true happiness, and Jareth felt honored that he had been the one to officially bind them together.

"They certainly look happy," Merelinda observed. "What is it with you men marrying mortal women?" She smiled at Sarah to let her know she was teasing.

"I don't know, Merelinda, it's just that they're so damn cute," Jareth replied, patting Sarah on the head. She swatted him away, laughing. They all looked up as Bayron started speaking.

"Everyone, we're having a small dinner reception in the dining hall, so please follow us there." He and Julie started out of the room, hand in hand. His parents followed, then Jareth stuck out both of his elbows. Sarah and Merelinda grinned at each other, and each stuck one of their arms through Jareth's.

"It's not often a man gets to escort two extremely lovely ladies to dinner," he said with a smile. Sarah found she wasn't the least bit jealous of Merelinda holding onto Jareth's other arm, which surprised her a little. She had thought when they left the city of the Merfolk that she was over her jealousy, but she hadn't been completely sure. She was glad to find out that she felt nothing towards Merelinda but friendship.

"You just need us to look good," Sarah teased Jareth, and Merelinda laughed. "Yes," Merelinda joined in, "it's not every day that two lovely ladies get to boost a man's ego!" She and Sarah laughed as Jareth pretended to look hurt. "What have I done, putting the two of you together?"

Merelinda and Sarah just kept laughing, each knowing that they were at the beginning of a true friendship. Jareth knew it as well, and smiled as he escorted his two fiancées down the hall to dinner.


	39. a sad goodbye, for now

Ch 40

Sarah enjoyed herself at Julie and Bayron's wedding dinner. She talked a lot with Bayron's parents, and discovered that they were both fascinated by the Aboveground. They had been thrilled when their son married a mortal woman, because it would allow them to learn more of the land that intrigued them.

Personally, Sarah couldn't understand their fascination with her world. She would choose to live here any day of the week, but, she thought, to each his own.

Julie and Bayron couldn't keep big, silly grins off their faces. They also couldn't keep their eyes, or hands, off each other. Sarah managed to break Julie away for a moment to congratulate her.

"So, how does it feel to be a princess?" Sarah asked with a smile. Julie sighed and smiled dreamily. "Wonderful," she said simply. "Thank you, Sarah."

Sarah was surprised. "What are you thanking me for?"

"Well," Julie said, "if it wasn't for you, I never would have met Bayron. You and Jareth could have met up in so many different ways, but for some reason, it happened when Bayron was along for the ride. So, I know you didn't really _do_ anything, but thank you anyway. You're my best friend, and I'm so glad we get to live down here together!" She smiled widely. "And god, Sar, did you _see_ this place? It's amazing! I can't believe it's my home!"

Sarah couldn't have been happier for her friend, and she locked Julie in a tight hug. "I'm glad, too," she told her. "And yes, this place is spectacular!" They pulled away from each other, smiling, and Julie went back to her own little world with her new husband. Sarah involved herself in light conversation with Jareth and Merelinda, and before she knew it, it was time to leave.

While Jareth was saying his good-byes to Bayron, Sarah said good-bye to Julie, letting her know she had to go back home for a few days, but that she expected her to be in her wedding next week. Julie winked at her. "Wouldn't miss it for the world!"

Jareth kissed Merelinda on the cheek, telling her he hoped to see her again soon, then Sarah gave her a quick hug. "I'm glad we're getting to be friends," Sarah told her sincerely. Merelinda smiled, saying "Me, too, dear." Then she was gone, back to the sea.

Jareth held Sarah's hand as he transported them back to his castle. Which, he noticed, looked quite gloomy compared to Bayron's. He'd have to do something about that. He turned to Sarah, seeing the sad look on her face, and immediately understanding why it was there.

He pulled her into a hug, saying, "I know, my love. I don't want you to leave either, but it's necessary," he said as he held her tight. She sighed. "I know, but it sucks."

He laughed at that and held her away from him at arms length. "Sarah, I love you, more than you could ever know, and I dread not having you by my side for these next few days. But it's only for five days, then you can return. I'm sure you have a lot to attend to Aboveground. Just think, when you come back, it'll be to become my Queen." He kissed her on the nose.

"I know," she said with another sigh. "I just really don't want to go home, I love it here with you. But," she said, brightening, "I do miss Toby a lot, and my parents. I know Toby is going to be full of questions about this, not to mention my parents. We never did really explain anything to them, did we?" She laughed a little, recalling how shocked they'd looked at Jareth had transformed himself into the Goblin King.

"No, love, I'm sorry, it will have to be up to you to talk to them." She secretly thought it was probably better that way, because Jareth found the whole situation too funny, and who knew what kind of tricks he would pull?

"Would you like to go back to your apartment, or shall I send you directly to your parents?" he asked. She thought for a second, then told him just to send her to her parents. She might as well talk to them as soon as possible.

"Are you ready to go?" Jareth asked Sarah, with regret in his eyes. He hated to see her go, even though she'd be back in just a few days.

"I guess so," Sarah said. She reached for Jareth and held him tight, lifting her face up for a kiss. The kiss deepened, and Sarah clung to Jareth, not wanting this moment to end. But it had to, and they finally pulled apart.

"I love you," Sarah told him.

"And I love you," he replied. "I'll come for you in five days, my love." She nodded, forcing herself not to cry. _Don't be stupid, Sarah_, she told herself. _It's not like you're never coming back_.

With one last look at Jareth, she saw him blow her a kiss, and then she was gone. She was suddenly standing in her parents' living room. She had appeared right in front of her father and Karen…and the guests they had been entertaining.

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**A/N: Saffy, **just so you know, I would never ever get tired of hearing someone say they like my story! I love hearing that, it makes this whole thing worth it. So thank you lots for reading and reviewing, it's greatly appreciated. Right now, I'm writing the last few chapters of this story, I'm kind of anxious to get it all posted cause I have a few other story ideas I want to try out, but I want to finish this first. So again, to those of you are still with me this far along, thanks so much for reading!

Oh, and you know what? I never did bother to put a disclaimer on here. Oh well, I'm sure you all are not under the illusion that I own any of the Labyrinth. Because, of course, I don't. :-)


	40. a few more explanations

Ch 41

_Oh crap_, Sarah thought, _how_ _am I going to get out of this one?_ Sarah stared at the shocked houseguests and her slightly less shocked parents. She looked down at herself and was relieved to see she was at least back in normal clothing.

"Sarah! I didn't hear you come in," Karen said smoothly, recovering well.

"Oh, sorry, I came in the back door," Sarah said just as smoothly. Her father shook his head and stood up to give her a kiss, giving her a Look as he sat back down.

"Sarah, I don't think you ever met the Parkers," Karen said, gesturing to her guests. "Todd, Rachel, this is my stepdaughter, Sarah." Sarah could tell the Parkers wanted to say something about her sudden appearance, but were restraining themselves. Sarah bit back a giggle as she sat down. "It's nice to meet you," she told them.

"Nice to meet you, Sarah," Mrs. Parker said, giving her a strange look. "How-" She stopped herself, then spoke again. "Karen, Richard, it was a lovely evening, but I think we'd better get going." Her husband jumped up as he agreed.

Sarah stayed in the living room while her parents walked the Parkers to the door, and looked up to see them staring at her.

"I don't know whether to yell or laugh," Richard said as he sat back down on the couch. "What the hell kind of entrance was that? You could have warned us."

"Sorry Daddy," Sarah said with a grin, "I didn't know you'd have company." She couldn't hold it in any longer, and burst into laughter. "Oh god, I'm so sorry," she managed to say, "but their faces! Oh god!" Her laughter was infectious, and as much as they tried to hold it back, her parents started laughing too.

"Well," Richard finally said, wiping his eyes, "I think it's safe to say we won't be seeing much of the Parkers anymore."

"Oh, Dad, I'm so sorry-" Sarah started to say, but Karen interrupted her. "Don't apologize, you did us a favor, I never like them much anyway!" That sent them all into another fit of laughter. When they finally got themselves under control, Richard turned to his daughter. "So…I'm assuming you're here with some explanations?"

"Yes," Sarah said, then she thought of something. "Is Toby here?"

"No," Karen answered, "He's staying at a friend's house tonight, he'll be home tomorrow."

"Oh, okay," Sarah said. She took a deep breath. "Well, I have some news for you..."

"Wait, don't tell me," her father cut in, "In addition to marrying some fairy king, you've also discovered that you can sprout wings and fly." He was joking, but part of him was preparing to hear something equally crazy.

Sarah smiled. "No, that's not it…although that's something you should talk to Jareth about," she added, thinking of his owl form.

Richard narrowed his eyes, then decided to let that one go for the time being. "Okay, so what's the news?"

"We're getting married next week, instead of next month," she told them, and they both sighed in relief.

"Is that all? I thought you were going to tell us another crazy story," her father said.

"Yeah, well, I have a couple of those for you, too." Sarah said, and then spent the next few hours talking with her parents, explaining everything that had happened, from the moment she met Jareth at the bar, to Julie's illness, to her wedding, and even about Merelinda. Her parents understandably had tons of questions, and Sarah answered them all as best she could. By the time their conversation finally slowed, it was late, almost early morning, but Sarah could tell that her parents were handling this well, and she was grateful.

Sarah yawned, covering her mouth with her hand. "I think I need to get going, I need to get home and go to sleep."

"You can stay here, you know," her stepmother told her, yawning as well.

"I know," Sarah replied, "but I'm going to have a ton of things to take care of when I wake up, and I'd rather just be home." She thought of something. "My car is still here, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yes, it's right where you left it," her father replied. Sarah realized she didn't have any idea where her keys were. She felt around her pockets, and heard them jingle. She smiled. _Thanks, Jareth_.

Sarah remembered something she had wanted to ask her parents. "Hey, by the way, did you get the crystals I sent you?" Her dad rolled his eyes. "Yes, we got those damn hallucinogenic balls."

"And we appreciated the fact that you let us know you were okay," Karen cut in, smiling at Sarah. "They kind of freaked out your dad a little," Karen whispered not so quietly to Sarah. She laughed as her dad rolled his eyes again.

Sarah said goodnight to her parents, promising to call the next day, then she got in her car and started for home. "But only for five more days!" she whispered to herself, already looking forward to being back in the Underground; she felt that was where she really and truly belonged. She had explained that to her parents tonight, and she could tell they were doing their best to understand. She appreciated that.

When Sarah got home, she opened the door to her apartment and looked around. It felt like more than just a few days had passed since she'd been here. This apartment seemed to belong in another life.

She saw the light on her answering machine blinking rapidly, and on the way to her bedroom, she pressed the play button. There were four messages. Three were from her parents, and the first two must have been right after she and Jareth had left, because they sounded pretty worried. She laughed at the third message, though, hearing her father say, "We got those goddamn balls you keep sending us. What in the world's wrong with a telephone?"

The fourth and final message was from James Waimo, her boss, politely telling her that she was fired for not showing up to work and not bothering to call.

"Good riddance," Sarah mumbled as she climbed into bed. She missed having Jareth next to her, and she fell asleep with him on her mind.


	41. some unexpected news

Ch 42

Sarah woke up early, despite having gone to bed so late. Her eyes felt like sandpaper, but she couldn't go back to sleep. Grumbling to herself, she stumbled out of bed and revived herself with a long hot shower. As she stepped out of the shower stall, she glanced around her tiny bathroom and thought of the huge, luxurious bathroom she used at Jareth's castle. She would not miss this place.

As she put on her robe and wandered into the kitchen, she looked around the rest of her apartment, and was surprised to see how little sentimental value anything in there held. When she had first moved out of her parents' house, she had gotten mismatched furniture from friends, and hung up a few pictures here and there. But it seemed like she had never really made it her home; it was just a place to live. Her home was at Jareth's.

"Oh, you're so pathetic," she groaned to herself. "Can't you go five minutes without thinking about him?" She resolved to concentrate of what needed done, instead of him. But then she thought, what exactly needs done? She didn't really care what happened to everything in her apartment, so it wasn't as if she had to pack. She didn't have a job to go to anymore, not that she would have gone anyway, even if she hadn't been fired. So what had she thought she had to do?

She wasn't sure, and she sighed, sitting down at the kitchen table with a bowl of cereal. She ate slowly, trying to figure out what the heck she was going to do with herself for the next five days. It seemed that boredom and loneliness loomed no matter what she thought of doing.

She had been brooding for quite awhile, her cereal turning soggy in its bowl, when she was startled by the ringing of the telephone. She hurried to answer it, and was happy to hear her brother's voice on the other end.

He was talking a mile a minute, wanting to know every detail of the last few days. Finally, Sarah asked if he just wanted to come visit her. Of course he said yes, and ran to get his mother on the phone to talk to Sarah.

"Sarah?" Karen asked, picking up the extension.

"Hi, Karen," Sarah replied. "Would you or Dad mind dropping Toby off? He's pretty excited, and I have a lot to tell him."

Karen laughed. "I know, he's jumping all around the living room. He's thrilled about all this. I have to go out and do some running anyway, I'll be glad to drop him off while I'm out. Is it okay if we're there pretty soon? I was actually just getting ready to leave."

Sarah told her that was fine, and hung up the phone. She tidied up the kitchen and living room a bit, then went into her room to get dressed. She was combing out her hair when the doorbell rang.

As soon as she opened the door, Toby flew into her arms. She hugged him back, smiling at Karen over his head. "Thanks for bringing him over."

"No problem," Karen replied. "I'll be back for him in about three hours, is that okay?"

"That's fine," Sarah said. Saying good-bye to her stepmother, she closed the door and looked at Toby. He was looking at her expectantly.

"Well?" he asked impatiently.

"Well what?" she teased. He frowned at her. "Sarah!"

She laughed. "All right, Tobes, come here and sit with me, and I'll tell you everything."

Toby was fascinated by her tale, especially the part about being underwater with the mermaids.

"Do you think I can see a mermaid?" he asked with wide eyes.

"I'm sure it can be arranged," she said with a smile. He had a million questions for her, and he could barely contain his excitement. He thought he must have the coolest sister ever, no one else had a sister who was going to marry the Goblin King!

Eventually, though, he grew bored with talking, as most children tend to do, and he and Sarah passed the rest of the afternoon playing board games. They were in the middle of Monopoly when the doorbell rang.

"That must be your mom," she said to Toby as she went to the door. Sure enough, it was Karen coming back to collect Toby. Toby gave Sarah another hug before he left, telling her he couldn't wait to go visit Jareth.

"Me neither," Sarah said with a grin. She waved good-bye and shut the door.

She looked around and sighed. Now what? She reluctantly settled herself on the sofa and flicked on the television. She flipped through the channels until she came to a home makeover show, and smiled as she thought about how much Jareth liked this. Watching it made her miss him a little less, so she settled in to enjoy the show.

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While Sarah was enjoying her TV program, Jareth was engrossed in the pile of paperwork he had let slide during Sarah's visit. He hated this part of his job. He sighed and rubbed his eyes; he'd been working all day, and he needed a break.

He wandered into the throne room and lounged on his throne. Unable to resist, he produced a crystal and asked it to show him Sarah, and he laughed when he saw what she was doing.

"How I adore you," he said softly to the image in the crystal. He was still watching her when he was startled by a commotion in the hall outside the throne room. Suddenly, the doors flew open and Merelinda was running towards him.

He rose out of the throne, concerned by how upset she was. "Merelinda, what's wrong? What are you doing here?"

She closed her eyes, and a few tears fell out of them. She hated herself for what she was about to do, but she had no choice. "Jareth, I need to talk to you…" she paused, not wanting to go on.

Jareth had a heavy feeling in his stomach as he urged her to continue. She took a deep breath. "Jareth…I'm so, so sorry, but you can't marry Sarah. I need you to marry me, it's a matter of life and death."

Jareth's face turned pale as he realized what he'd just heard.


	42. the end of a friendship

Ch 43

Jareth couldn't speak; he could only gape at Merelinda in shock.

"Jareth, I'm so sorry, I swear I am, but if you don't marry me, I don't know what I'll do, and-" Merelinda's pleas were cut off.

"Why don't you just tell me what's going on," he said icily. "What exactly is this 'life or death' matter?"

Merelinda flushed. "Well, I guess it's not as drastic as that, although I'm sure my father will kill me, you know his temper, so maybe it is life or death, I don't know.." she forced herself to stop rambling as she saw the look on Jareth's face. Never in all their years of friendship had he looked so angry at her.

"Jareth," she said softly, "I'm pregnant."

His jaw dropped. "You're _what_? How? When? Who? How could—but that means—" Seeing the Goblin King stuttering so would have been amusing any other time, but now Merelinda had never been further away from laughter.

She sighed. Telling this to Jareth was just as bad as telling her father. She knew Jareth would be furious at her.

"It doesn't matter who," she started to say but Jareth cut her off again. "It sure as hell does matter who, because whoever he is, he's going to marry you. He's going to take responsibility for this, and so are you, and he's going to marry you, because I'm not! I can't. My god, Merelinda, my wedding to Sarah is only a few days away. What are you thinking, coming here like this?" Merelinda was right; Jareth was furious.

By now silent tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Jareth, you don't understand. He won't marry me, I know it. This was a horrible mistake we made, but it's my cross to bear now. I cannot force him to take responsibility for something he refuses to accept."

"Oh, but you expect me to take that responsibility?" he practically spat at her.

Merelinda lifted her chin. "You are already engaged to me, we have been betrothed for more than a hundred years. I know we hadn't planned on marrying, but now I need you Jareth. I will not be able to take the throne as an unwed mother, you know the rules, Jareth. Please, I need you. Help me," she was begging now.

Jareth was silent. He was seething inside. How dare she come here and suddenly demand marriage! This wasn't his responsibility, and he refused to accept this.

"Merelinda, no. I cannot marry you. I love Sarah, you know that, I would never hurt her." His voice was firm and colored with anger.

"Jareth, please. I have never begged for anything in my life, but I am begging you now. I need you, or else my whole life will fall apart." She was openly sobbing now.

Jareth softened somewhat in the face of her tears, but he refused to budge. "I gave you my answer Merelinda. I love Sarah and I am marrying her, and only her. I am truly sorry for the mess you have gotten yourself into, but I cannot help you."

"But Jareth, you have to help me, I don't have anyone else!" Merelinda looked at him with pleading eyes. "I have no one else to turn to."

"I don't have to do anything Merelinda. You know as well as I do that I agreed to our engagement only as a courtesy to you. I have the choice to back out of it any time I wish; I risked my relationship with Sarah to keep our engagement. But this is asking too much. As much as I care for you, Merelinda, I can't help you. I'm sorry." He strode past her and slammed out of the throne room, leaving her there alone to cry helplessly.

Jareth stalked to his bedroom and threw himself down on the bed. He had never been angrier in his life. He loved Merelinda dearly, but she was asking just too much of him. But as he laid there, his anger gradually melted away, to be replaced by guilt. Guilt? Why should he feel guilty? he asked himself. He had done nothing wrong; Merelinda and her idiot boyfriend were in the wrong here. But he began to wonder if maybe he hadn't been too harsh with her.

After all, she was upset and had only been coming to her friend for help. He should have tried to talk to her, and calm her down, and talk her through all of her options before blowing up at her. He sighed. Although she wouldn't get a husband out of him, she at least deserved a friend. He got out of bed and headed back to the throne room, hoping she was still there.

But she was gone. All that was left in the room was a note, sitting on his throne, with five simple words.

_I'll make you regret this._

He sighed. The Merfolk were notorious for their tempers. He hoped Merelinda would come to her senses soon, but he couldn't be sure. He had seen her temper flare in the past, and it wasn't a pleasant sight to behold.

He sat on his throne, with his head in his hands. Just what kind of mess was Merelinda going to create for him?

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**A/N: **Thanks for all the great reviews! Without them, I don't know if I would have continued this story or not, so just know I really really appreciate it! And **Lady Saffron of the Daggers**, I love your reviews, you make me laugh! Thank you!


	43. an unexpected visitor

Ch 44

Sarah had dozed off in front of the TV, and was startled out of her nap by knocking at the door. Wondering who it could be, she dragged herself off the couch and opened the door.

"Merelinda! What's going on, why are you here?" Sarah couldn't contain her surprise at seeing the beautiful mermaid standing at her front door.

Merelinda smiled at her. Sarah couldn't be sure, but it seemed like her smile wasn't as warm as it had been when they last saw each other.

Sarah showed Merelinda inside, and they sat in the living room. "I need to talk to you, Sarah," Merelinda said coolly.

She could see Sarah tense, and a flash of guilt shot through her for what she was about to do. She truly liked Sarah, and found it hard to act cold towards her. It wasn't normally in her nature to act so selfishly, but she was desperate.

"Jareth won't be marrying you," she said bluntly. Despite seeing Sarah's shock, she continued. "He has chosen to marry me instead. I'm sorry Sarah, but believe me, it's best this way for all of us."

Sarah was so stunned, she couldn't speak for a moment. When she finally found her voice, she asked a simple question. "Why?"

Merelinda paused for a moment, then plunged ahead. "Sarah, I'm pregnant, and Jareth has taken responsibility and agreed to marry me."

Sarah shook her head slowly, trying to grasp what Merelinda was saying. "You're telling me you're having Jareth's child."

Merelinda merely smiled. Sarah looked at her first in shock, then disbelief, then finally fury.

"You're lying, Merelinda, you have to be. Jareth would never do something like this to me. He loves me, he doesn't love you! I refuse to believe that he got you pregnant, he wouldn't lie to me or cheat on me. I know him." Sarah was doing her best to believe her own words.

"I'm two months pregnant, Sarah. I can assure you, Jareth never cheated on you." Merelinda felt awful, seeing how upset Sarah was. She almost hated herself for what she was letting Sarah assume. She didn't say that Jareth was the father of her child, but she'd carefully worded it in a way to be sure Sarah jumped to that conclusion.

Merelinda stood up. "That's all, Sarah. Forgive me for not staying to chat longer, but I have a lot I need to attend to."

"You can't just leave!" Sarah cried. "You have a lot to explain-" It was no use; Merelinda was gone.

"Bitch!" Sarah yelled to the empty room. She was too shocked to cry. What the hell had just happened? Did Merelinda, who Sarah had thought of as her friend, really just come her and tell her she was having Jareth's child, and that Jareth was going to marry her?

_Yes,_ she thought viciously,_ that's exactly what just happened. _

"Damn you Jareth," she whispered as she felt something break inside of her. The tears started flowing, softly at first, then harder as she recalled the events of the last few days. They had been so happy; how could this be happening? Why hadn't he come himself? Was he too scared to face her?

_Or maybe Merelinda was lying._ The thought stopped her tears as she pondered it. What possible reason could Merelinda have for lying about this? Sarah didn't know, but she clung to that hope with all her might, because it was the only thing that was keeping her from completely breaking down.

Still, she couldn't stop the stray tears that fell from her eyes as she thought of how long it was until she was supposed to see Jareth again. "Just in time for our wedding," she said bitterly. She wanted desperately to call for him, but she held back. Even if it killed her, she would not call on him. It was up to him to come to her.


	44. is it true?

Ch 45

Jareth paced around his throne room He had been trying to contact Merelinda, but he couldn't find her. He had a sick feeling in his stomach as he thought of where she could be.

Almost scared to do so, he produced a crystal to look in on Sarah. But before he could call up her image, he was interrupted by someone entering the room. He looked up, somehow knowing who it would be.

"Merelinda," he said with a sigh. "I'm glad you're here, I was worried that you had gone and done something we'd both regret."

She stared at him, and he didn't like what he saw in her eyes.

"Merelinda…" he said warningly, starting to get angry at her again.

She saw that, and bit her lip. She had been furious when Jareth had turned her down, then left her alone, crying. She had a bad temper; she knew it, and Jareth knew it. But hiding behind her temper wasn't going to get her out of the mess she was in. She was stuck.

Jareth was watching her, waiting for her to talk. His stomach sank lower with each second she was quiet.

"What have you done?" he asked her quietly.

"I have simply arranged it so that it won't be a problem for us to get married," she replied, still foolishly hoping this could end in her favor.

Jareth's eyes flashed dangerously. "I told you, I am not going to marry you. I'm marrying Sarah, and nothing you say to me will make me change my mind." He paused for a second. "You went to Sarah, didn't you." It wasn't a question; he could see in her eyes what she'd done.

She spoke softly. "I told her I was pregnant, and that you were going to marry me."

Jareth exploded. "You did _what_? You had no right at all to do something like that! My god, I can't imagine what must be going through Sarah's mind right now. You disgust me," he snarled at Merelinda with enough conviction to make her flinch.

"Jareth, I-" she tried, but he wouldn't allow her to finish.

"I want you out of here. Now. You are no longer welcome in my kingdom. I don't care what kind of mess your future is now, you'll only be suffering the consequences of your own actions. Damn it, Merelinda, did you really think that going to Sarah would convince me to marry you? You must be mad! I swear to you, if you ruined what I have with Sarah, you'll regret the day we ever became friends. You may have succeeded in stopping my marriage to her, but it won't be to your advantage. You get nothing from me. Get out." He crossed his arms and stared at her with pure fury in his eyes.

She knew she had lost, and she turned and ran from the room. What had she done? She couldn't bear to think of it, and she returned to her watery kingdom, a kingdom which she would never rule, because of her stupid mistakes.

Jareth stormed around the throne room, angrily swiping objects off tables and pounding on the walls, anything to vent his fury. _Damn you Merelinda_, he thought, _damn you for all eternity._

He had to go to Sarah. He knew he wasn't supposed to, but he had no choice. He couldn't leave her alone with the thoughts Merelinda had put in her head.

He took a deep breath, and then transported himself, hoping against hope that he could fix this.

Sarah was still sitting on her couch, staring into space, when he appeared in front of her. She barely glanced at him before staring back out the window.

It scared him to see her like this. He had expected her to cry, or yell, _something. _Not this…indifference towards him.

"Sarah," he said, "please let me explain."

She looked at him, and he couldn't read the expression in her eyes. It could have been either pain or anger, he couldn't tell.

He sat down next to her and took her hand in his. She made no move to stop him, but then she barely seemed to notice he'd taken her hand at all.

"Sarah," he began, "I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am. Merelinda had no right to come up here and tell you that. She-" Sarah cut him off.

"So you're saying it's true?" she asked, her voice cracking slightly.

Jareth shook his head, saying "No, my love. Well, it is, but it isn't." Sarah gave him a Look, and he sighed in frustration. "Look, Sarah, it's true that Merelinda is pregnant. But it is not my child, I swear to you. Look at me Sarah, look into my eyes. Do you really think I would keep something like that from you?" He held her gaze as she stared into his mismatched eyes.

"I wouldn't," he said softly. "Merelinda got herself into a mess, and she tried to take advantage of our friendship. But Sarah, don't you remember what I told you? I told you that no matter what circumstances arose with Merelinda, I would marry you regardless. I love you Sarah, please understand," he pleaded, begging with his eyes.

She looked at him thoughtfully. He was telling her exactly what she had hoped to hear. But was it true? She really didn't have any way of knowing if the child Merelinda was carrying truly was Jareth's or not. But then, she honestly didn't believe Jareth would lie to her about something like this. What if he was, though? She looked at Jareth, waiting patiently for her to answer with a worried look on his face. She couldn't imagine him deliberately hurting her, but if they got married in spite of Merelinda, would the mermaid do something even more drastic? Sarah almost felt like this relationship was too full of drama; this was supposed to be real life, not a soap opera.

She stared at Jareth, trying to decide what she wanted to tell him.


	45. another roadblock

Ch 46

Against his will, Jareth began to grow impatient at Sarah's silence. He couldn't help it; too much stress was taking its toll on him.

"Sarah, I've told you the truth. I thought you trusted me; was I wrong? I have told you I've done nothing wrong, I cannot help the foolishness of others. I have told you that I love you and wouldn't hurt you. What more can I say?" he asked her more harshly than he'd intended.

Her eyes glittered, and he could see he was on dangerous ground. "Forgive me for not being naïve enough to blindly assume you weren't Merelinda's lover. How am I supposed to be sure that child isn't yours?" She didn't think it was, but she was hurt and upset, and spoke without thinking. Instantly she could tell that had been the wrong thing to say.

Now it was Jareth's eyes that glittered dangerously. "Are you calling me a liar?" He ignored the pain in his heart that she didn't trust him and focused on being angry.

Sarah sighed and closed her eyes. "No, Jareth. No, I'm not. I'm sorry, I didn't really mean that."

Jareth softened a little bit, but not completely. "So what exactly are you saying, Sarah?"

"I don't know!" she cried. "This is getting so complicated, it's just one hurdle to cross after another, and I never thought I would be in love with a man who has so many issues!"

A tiny smile threatened to break through Jareth's cool demeanor. "I have issues?"

"Yes!" Sarah began to smile too.

"But you love me?"

"Yes."

"Then why are we sitting here arguing?" With that he reached over and hugged her tight. She returned the embrace, but then pulled away. "Jareth, what the hell was Merelinda doing?"

Jareth silently cursed his friend for putting them in this situation. "She was stupid enough to get knocked up and wanted me to marry her to keep her out of trouble."

Hearing him put it so crudely made her smile. "Well, why can't she just marry the father of the baby?" Wouldn't that have been easier than causing trouble for everyone?

Jareth sighed. "I don't know, she wouldn't even tell me who it was. All that she said was that he wouldn't marry her. If I ever find out who he is, I'll wring his neck, and someone might have to stop me from wringing Merelinda's, too." He paused for a moment, thinking of his lifelong friend. "I feel bad for her, Sarah. I probably shouldn't, after all this mess she caused, but she's been my friend for hundreds of years and part of me feels terrible leaving her alone to deal with this."

Sarah thought she could understand that, and as mad as she was at Merelinda, she was beginning to feel bad for her too. She must have been terribly scared and desperate to do what she had done, and Sarah wished circumstances were different so that she could comfort Merelinda and help her through this. As it was right now, she didn't care if she ever saw the devious mermaid again.

She looked at Jareth seriously. "Jareth, I want you to know that I do believe you, and that I do trust you. I'm sorry I made you think otherwise."

He grinned at her. "Thank you. Although must say I admire you; if I were in your position, I would be nowhere near as forgiving!"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know, cause you're the cold, cruel Goblin King who has a heart of ice, right?"

Jareth lifted his head haughtily. "Exactly."

They broke into laughter, relieved that, once again, they had made it through another roadblock. They simply sat together for awhile, with Sarah resting her head on Jareth's shoulder. "How long can you stay?" Sarah asked.

"Not long, I'm afraid," he sighed. "I really shouldn't be here now, but I couldn't leave you alone."

"Well I'm glad you came, it was the best thing you could have done." She reached up and kissed him, and took him by surprise by suddenly climbing on top of him. She straddled his thighs as she kissed him with all the passion she had inside her. His arms wrapped around her, holding her to him, and he groaned softly as she shifted her weight.

"You're killing me," he whispered hoarsely as he trailed kisses down her neck. She shivered at the sensation, and suddenly found herself lying flat on the couch with Jareth on top of her.

He kissed her with all the feelings and desires that had been building up for ten years, and all rational thoughts left his mind as he lost himself in the kiss. His hands slowly slid up her stomach, caressing her lightly, giving her goose bumps. He slid his hand up further and gently cupped her breast, making her whimper softly.

She writhed underneath him, wanting more than this, wanting all of him. She slid her hands underneath his shirt and clutched at his bare back, pulling him down closer to her. He felt himself about to lose control, and keeping that control was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do.

"Sarah," he breathed as he gently broke their kiss. "We must stop."

Sarah felt a rush of disappointment. "Jareth, why? We both want to, there's nothing stopping us. Please, I want you." She looked up at him with her beautiful eyes, and his resolve almost broke. Almost, but not quite.

"No, Sarah," he whispered, "I said we would wait until our wedding night, and I am not going to break that vow."

Sarah closed her eyes, silently cursing his sheer stubbornness, but at the same time admiring him for sticking to his guns. She sure as hell couldn't.

"Okay then." She gently pushed him aside so she could sit up, readjusting her top. "But you just wait till we're married, you're going to regret making me wait. I'm holding a lot in." Her eyes were twinkling.

"Oh, somehow I don't think I'll mind," he said with a smile. Then his smile faded. "Sarah, I really need to get back, I shouldn't have stayed this long."

She sighed, hating this part. "I know, I know. Just promise me something, okay? No more surprises. I just want to marry you and live happily ever after."

Jareth pulled her into his arms for one last kiss. "Darling, that sounds perfect to me. I swear to you, I will do my best not to let anything-or anyone- interfere with us." He looked her in they eyes, saying, "I love you, Sarah."

"And I love you, Jareth," she replied. Then he was gone.

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A/N: I hope that met with your approval **Saffy**:-) Thanks for all the great reviews everyone, I love it! I have officially FINISHED this story, now it's just a mater of posting it...I may drag it out a bit, just to be evil...no, I wouldn't do that. Plus I'm going away this weekend so I wouldn't be able to update anyways. So this story will probably be completely posted by tomorrow night. Thank you everyone for reading!


	46. apologies

Ch 47

For Sarah, the next few days dragged by slowly, with only visits to and from her parents and Toby to occasionally stop the boredom. She was practically counting the minutes until she could go back to Jareth.

Jareth's life, however, had been a whirlwind of activity since he'd returned.

He had just managed to make a dent in his mound of paperwork when he was interrupted to settle a dispute between two goblin brothers. "Who gives a damn whose chicken it is?" Jareth muttered as he finally left the two goblins, who had spent the better part of an hour babbling away in goblin nonsense. Jareth got back to his study and rubbed his temples.

He was interrupted six more times, all by people needing to know certain details for his wedding to Sarah. After the sixth interruption, Jareth was ready to pull out his hair, and he stalked to the door, producing a scroll on the way. He tacked it up on the outside of the door, and it clearly stated everything he and Sarah wanted for their wedding, with a not-so-polite notice that anyone who disturbed him would be making a trip to the Bog.

He worked his way through hours of paperwork, and then he was finally finished. He stretched his stiff muscles and stood up and went to the window. He stared outside at his kingdom for a long while, thinking to himself that in just a few days, it would no longer be his kingdom, it would be _their_ kingdom.

The thought made him smile, and he thought about how much Sarah would have to learn. She needed to be knowledgeable about the Underground, and the kingdom and its subjects. She would have a lot of reading to do, but he thought she wouldn't mind so much, seeing as how she had always been fascinated by stories of fantasy.

He wandered into the main room and sprawled on his throne. He found himself thinking about his and Sarah's future, and he imagined the castle alive with the sounds of their children's laughter. He smiled to himself, hardly able to believe that he was having these thoughts. He had never contemplated his future before, not until Sarah came along. Now he couldn't imagine going back to the dull meaninglessness that was his life before she came into it.

His reverie was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in," he called, slightly irritated at whoever was interrupting his pleasant thoughts.

He became even more irritated when he saw it was Merelinda coming across the room towards him.

He didn't bother straightening up in his seat. "What do you want?"

Merelinda cringed inwardly, thinking that only days ago he would have greeted her enthusiastically, with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Now, it was just cold indifference. She felt a flare of temper that he was treating her so coldly, but she reminded herself that she deserved it.

She cleared her throat. "I just wanted to apologize." It took a lot for her to say those words; the Merfolk were a proud race, and weren't known for admitting they were ever wrong.

Jareth looked at her. "Apologize? What for?" he asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "For trying to trap me into a marriage neither of us wants? To try to make me take responsibility for your mistakes? Or for nearly ruining my relationship?" He stared at her with ice in his eyes.

"For all of that," Merelinda answered, trying to keep her voice from wobbling. "I just want you to know that I'm truly sorry. I don't know what I was thinking."

"Neither do I," Jareth said in a harsh tone.

Merelinda took a deep breath. "I also wanted you to know that I am to be married tomorrow."

This took Jareth by surprise. "What? You're getting married? To who?"

"The father of my child. His name is Dorian."

"But I thought he wouldn't marry you?" Jareth asked.

Merelinda flushed. "Well, I didn't say he wouldn't, I said I didn't think he would. But I talked to him, and he has agreed to marry me. So I will become Queen after all." _Yeah,_ she thought bitterly, _and at what price_?

Jareth was quiet for a long time. When he finally spoke, it was in a much calmer tone. "Merelinda, I wish I could say I'm happy for you, but I'm not. I know you don't love this Dorian, and I don't know what you said to him to get him to marry you. But I do know that you aren't happy, and if you go through with this wedding, you will never be happy." He rose off his throne and stepped closer to her. "I know that the Merfolk are bound for eternity by marriage. Are you sure you want to be bound to someone you don't truly love?" His eyes pierced hers.

"I have no choice," she said with her head held high. Inside she was dying; he was confirming everything she was feeling, and it broke her heart that she was doing this to herself.

"Being Queen means so much to you?" Jareth couldn't understand how it could.

Sadly, she looked at him. "Yes. Yes, Jareth, it does. I have been waiting to be Queen for my whole life. If I chose not to take the throne, that would mean that my life up until now was wasted, and the rest of my life would be wasted, as well. I can accept marrying a man I don't love, but I can't accept a meaningless life."

"But Merelinda, you're to have a child! Your life will never be meaningless, you'll be a mother with a child to love you and depend on you." He was frustrated that he couldn't get through to her.

Merelinda looked at Jareth with tears in her eyes. "That scares me more than anything else. I'm selfish, Jareth, I freely admit that. I'll make a terrible mother. But I will make a good Queen."

Jareth only shook his head at her, disappointed that she felt that way. "I don't know what else to say to you, Merelinda, except that I beg you not to make this mistake."

"Well, Jareth, it's my mistake to make. I only came here to inform you of my wedding, and to assure you that I wish you and Sarah nothing but happiness. I wish you all the happiness I will never have," With that, she turned and fled the room.

Jareth stared after her, knowing he would probably never see her again. He felt an aching sadness over the loss of a once-dear friend. "Good luck," he said quietly to the empty room.


	47. the big morning

Ch 48

Sarah woke up on her wedding day with butterflies in her stomach. Instantly wide-awake, she jumped out of bed and looked at herself in the mirror. "Today you become someone's wife." She bit her lip as she looked at her excited reflection. Then she couldn't hold it in anymore, and she squealed loudly.

"I'm getting married today! I'm getting married today!" she chanted, dancing around her bedroom. Unable to stop herself, she even jumped up and down on her bed. She laughed at her behavior, but she didn't care that she was being silly. It was her wedding day, and she was entitled to the excitement.

Jareth had told her he'd come for her at nine in the morning, and she looked at the clock to see it was a little after eight.

"Yikes!" she said, and ran around, trying to get herself somewhat put together. She didn't bother dressing up, since she would be getting ready at the castle. The night before, she had packed a single bag with her most treasured belongings and a few of her favorite articles of clothing. "I can't be expected to wear those stiff gowns all the time," she said to herself as she re-checked the bag to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything.

The doorbell rang, and she ran to answer it, knowing it would be her dad, Karen and Toby. She had told them to be at her house before nine, and to be ready for their trip. They would be arriving with Sarah to the Underground and staying the night. Jareth had said it was up to them if they wanted to stay longer, and she hoped they would. There was so much she wanted to show them.

"Hi Daddy! Hi Karen! Hi Tobes!" She was almost bouncing with excitement as she let them into the apartment.

"Hi sweetheart," her father answered, kissing her on the cheek. Then, on second thought, he wrapped her in a hug, saying, "I can't believe my little girl's getting married today." _And to a fairy king, no less_, he thought to himself. But he had decided to accept his daughter's soon-to-be husband, and he was fairly sure that Jareth would be good to her. He just wanted his little girl to be happy.

Karen hugged her next, and all the while Toby was firing questions at her. "Am I gonna meet Hoggle? And Ludo and Sir Didymus? Is the Labyrinth hard? Will I see lots of goblins? Are they scary?" and so on.

"Tobes, all of your questions will be answered in…" she glanced at the clock. "Ten minutes! Oh my gosh, ten minutes? That means that in ten minutes I'm leaving here and never coming back!"

Sarah glanced wildly around her apartment, which somehow looked suddenly cozy and inviting, not cold and impersonal as she'd once thought. How could she leave this place? And how could she leave her family? What was she doing?

Karen recognized the look in her eyes. "Sarah, calm down. You just have some last-minute jitters."

Sarah looked at her with wide eyes. "But what if it's not just jitters? What if I'm not ready to get married?" She was terrified of how overwhelming these feelings suddenly were.

Karen smiled understandingly. "Sarah, it's normal. I felt the same way when I married your father." Sarah looked surprised at that. "I told you, it's normal, it doesn't mean you're not ready to get married. Look at me, Sarah." Sarah looked at her stepmother with her brow furrowed.

"Do you love Jareth?" Karen asked her. Without even thinking, Sarah replied, "Of course I do."

"And does he love you?" Karen continued. Sarah nodded, not doubting for a moment that Jareth loved her.

"Well, then, there you go. You know you love him, and he loves you. You're going to live happily ever after. And you're definitely closer to that fairy tale ending than any other bride I've known!"

Sarah smiled at that. She was beginning to calm down, and she felt rather silly. How could she have doubted her decision to marry Jareth? He was the only one for her, and she was sure of it.

"Thank you Karen," she said, giving her another hug. She sat back and chatted with her family for a minute, and then Jareth was there.

Sarah's father jumped out of his chair. "Holy hell, what is it with you people and your surprise entrances?"

"I apologize," Jareth said to him with a smile. He then looked at Sarah, who he thought was adorable in an old track suit with her hair in a ponytail. She ran over to him and jumped into his arms, and he twirled her around as she laughed happily. Her parents stood watching the scene with smiles on their faces.

Jareth looked into her eyes, his own mismatched ones sparkling. "Are you ready to become my wife?"

"I've never been more ready for anything in my life," she said. She looked at her parents and Toby. "You guys ready for the most amazing trip of your life?"

Without waiting for them to answer, Jareth waved his hand and brought them all back to his home, where he and Sarah could finally start the rest of their lives together.


	48. getting ready

Ch 49

Richard, Karen and Toby found themselves in a large stone room, dominated by a large chair –_a throne_? Richard asked himself. Toby looked around, disappointed that he didn't see any goblins.

"Where are the goblins, Jareth?" he asked, and Jareth smiled. Imagine being excited to see goblins! But even he had to admit the goblins could be amusing, and he was sure Toby would get along well with them.

"I'm sure they're all keeping out of the way, they know how important today is," Jareth told Toby. He was actually touched as he took a closer look around, and saw how clean it looked. The goblins were making an effort to make the castle look nice for Sarah and her family, and he appreciated it. He reminded himself to reward the goblins later for their good behavior.

Richard and Karen were just standing there, looking rather lost. With a snap of his fingers, their bags were gone. "I have moved your things to your rooms," he told them. "Follow me, and I'll take you there. The wedding is early this afternoon, so I'm afraid we don't have time for any sight-seeing today, but you all are welcome to explore the castle and its grounds." As he talked, he held Sarah's hand and they led her parents down the twisting corridors until they reached a suite of rooms.

Jareth gave Sarah a deep kiss before he left her to get her family settled. "I'll be back in a short while," he promised her.

Sarah grinned as she saw the amazed looks on her parents' faces as they gazed around the room. Jareth had really outdone himself, she thought. Her parents room looked fit for royalty, with it's huge canopied bed and ornately carved furniture. Toby's room connected to his parents, and he was already in there exploring. Sarah kept hearing things like "Whoa, cool!" and "That's awesome!" and she grinned, happy he was happy.

"This is really happening, isn't it?" her dad asked in a rather dazed voice. "We're really in a magical place filled with goblins and fairies and kings and…" his voice trailed off as he looked at his daughter. "And my little girl is going to be Queen of it all."

"Yes, I am, and I can't wait!" Sarah said, trying to cheer her dad up a little. She didn't want him to be sad about this, not when she was so happy.

Karen put her arm around her husband and said, "I think this place is just amazing, Sarah. I can't believe this is your home!"

Sarah laughed. "Yeah, well, you should see the castle Julie got!"

"I knew you liked it better there than here," she heard an amused Jareth say behind her, and she turned to him with a grin. "Oh, shut up!"

Jareth turned to her parents. "I'm sorry to have to leave you, but I must ask Sarah to begin to get ready. It took ages to prepare her for her friends wedding; I shudder to think of the time it will take for her to get ready to be the bride!"

Sarah smacked his arm, and he responded by grabbing her hands and putting them around his waist, so she was hugging him. Even Richard couldn't help but marvel at how in love they looked, and he knew for certain then that his daughter was making the right decision.

"I promise you'll receive a full tour of the kingdom tomorrow," Jareth told Richard, Karen and Toby, and Toby shouted in excitement. "Yay! I get to go in the Labyrinth!"

Karen gave Sarah a quick hug. "Go get ready honey, I'm sure you're going to be a beautiful bride!" Sarah smiled her thanks.

Richard looked at his daughter, unable to believe that the next time he saw her, she would be becoming someone's wife. He smiled at her. "I'm proud of you honey. Jareth's a good guy." Tears surprisingly filled her eyes, and she quickly blinked them away.

"Thanks, Daddy," she whispered as she gave him a fierce hug. Then, with one final smile, she allowed Jareth to lead her out of the room and down the hall to his bedchambers.

Sarah glanced at the huge bed, and she shivered in anticipation when she realized she would be sleeping in this bed with Jareth tonight, as his wife. That title meant she would receive every privilege of being a wife, and she could hardly wait.

Just then, Helma bustled into the room. "My dear, what are you doing just standing there?" she exclaimed. "We've got to get you ready!" She bravely attempted to shoo the Goblin King out of the room so she could get to work.

Jareth looked at Sarah. "Helma will bring you to the gardens when it is time. So, my love, the next time I see you, you will be becoming Mrs. Goblin King." He grinned and gave her a kiss, ignoring the glare he was receiving from Helma for holding her up. With one last look into her eyes, Jareth left Sarah to get ready. She took a deep breath, then turned to Helma. "Okay, I think I'm ready."

Helma smiled broadly at her. "Why, of course you're ready, my dear. It's not hard to see what's between you and his Majesty. We're all mighty happy to be having you for our Queen," she said, speaking for all the goblins.

Sarah smiled at her. "Thank you, Helma. That means a lot." She leaned down to hug the little goblin. Helma harrumphed but allowed the hug. Then she hustled Sarah into the bathroom, where a nice hot bubble bath was waiting.

"Now, you take a nice relaxing soak, and I'll be ready for you when you're through." Helma said, leaving Sarah to undress and slide into the warm, slightly rose-scented water.

She sighed in pleasure and leaned back, enjoying every second of this luxurious bath. After awhile, though, she began to worry about looking like a prune. She didn't want to get married with wrinkly skin, so regretfully she climbed out of the tub. Slipping on a fluffy robe, she went back across the hall.

When she opened the door, she gasped to see the dress hanging off a hook on the wall. It was almost an exact replica of the dress she'd worn so many years ago, at that ball where Jareth had tried so hard to get her to forget her mission and fall in love with him. This dress was strapless, but it had the same intricate, glittery pattern and full skirt. Sarah couldn't believe she would get to wear something so beautiful.

She jumped as Helma spoke. "Come on dearie, sit down here and let me get you ready!"

Sarah obeyed the little goblin, and sat obediently in the chair Helma had pulled. She sat patiently as Helma painstakingly made up her face. When she was finally satisfied, she frowned as she tried to think of the perfect style for Sarah's hair. She played with it for a few moments, twisting it this way and that, before finally letting it fall free. Helma used hot rollers to curl Sarah's hair, so it fell down her back in soft ringlets. Finally, she carefully wove strands of silver through Sarah's dark hair.

When Sarah looked in the mirror, she gasped. She could hardly believe this was her. She turned her head to the side, marveling at how Helma had managed to weave the silver into her hair; it glittered in sharp contrast to her dark locks, and Sarah loved it.

Helma was pleased that Sarah was pleased, and she smiled to herself.

Now there was nothing left for Sarah to do but dress. Helma insisted on helping Sarah into the gown, saying, "We don't want this one to get stuck, now do we?"

Sarah grumbled, remembering her earlier dressing mishap, and concentrated on not ripping the delicate material as the dress slid over her body. Helma took a few moments to straighten everything out, and then stood back, staring at Sarah with a smile on her face.

Slowly, Sarah walked over to the full-length mirror to get her first glimpse of herself as a bride. She could only stare open-mouthed at her reflection. She truly looked like a fairy princess. The dress fit her perfectly, showing off her slim form. The shining silver in her hair complemented the silvery strands of the dress. She slowly twirled around, unable to take her eyes off of her reflection.

Helma allowed Sarah to admire herself for awhile, but then she had to pry her away from the mirror. It wouldn't do for the lass to be late to her own wedding! Sarah took one last look at herself before allowing Helma to lead her out of the room. Sarah's stomach was churning with nervous excitement. She stepped out of the room and almost collided with someone who was coming in. Sarah stared in shock.

"Merelinda! What are you doing here?"


	49. more apologies

Ch 50

Merelinda stood back and looked at Sarah. "My, don't you look lovely."

"Thank you," Sarah said as she eyed her warily. What was she up to?

Merelinda saw the suspicious glint in Sarah's eyes and was quick to reassure her. "Sarah, I am not here to cause you trouble. I have apologized to Jareth, and now I want to apologize to you."

"You came here, on my wedding day, just to apologize?" Sarah asked.

Merelinda nodded, continuing. "I am truly sorry for what I did, Sarah. I should have known it wouldn't work, but I was desperate! I was scared, and worried about losing the throne, and I did the only thing I could think of, and I know it was wrong." She looked at Sarah sadly. "How I envy you! You're marrying the man of you dreams, someone with whom you're madly in love, and who madly loves you back. You and Jareth will find great happiness, I am sure of that. And I'm glad you're finding it despite my actions."

Sarah could not help feeling for Merelinda; she looked so sad and alone. "Oh, Merelinda, you'll find someone, too. You'll see."

Merelinda slowly shook her head, as a single tear ran down her cheek. "No, Sarah. I married the father of my child this morning, and although I know our union will not bring me happiness, it was the only thing I could do."

Sarah's eyes opened wide at this news. "You got _married_? Well, I would say congratulations but I sense that would be the wrong thing to do."

Merelinda smiled. "You would be right. Just as Jareth was right; it was my own stupid mistakes that got me in this position, and I had no right to try to take away your happiness just to solve my selfish problems. Sarah, please accept my apology."

Sarah was quiet a moment, thinking over what Merelinda had told her. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't work up the same level of anger she'd first felt towards the mermaid. She knew she would never be close to Merelinda, not like she'd hoped. But Sarah's own happiness was really all she could feel, and she didn't have the heart not to accept Merelinda' s apology.

She broke into a small smile. "All is forgiven, Merelinda. Not quite forgotten, but forgiven."

Merelinda smiled back in relief, feeling like a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders. "Thank you so much, Sarah, you don't know how grateful I am to hear that." She also knew that she had ruined her chance at friendship with Sarah, and was saddened by that fact, but she had no choice but to accept it. She turned to leave, but Sarah stopped her.

"Merelinda, wait," she said, thinking furiously. She hoped Jareth wouldn't get upset, but she wanted Merelinda to come to the wedding. No matter what she'd done, she and Jareth went back many, many years, and that had to count for something. "Would you like to come to the wedding?"

Merelinda was a little nervous at what Jareth's reaction would be to seeing her, but that didn't stop her. "Of course I want to come! Thank you, Sarah, this means a lot to me," she said with glistening eyes.

Sarah smiled at her. "Come on, then. I don't want to be late."

Helma had somehow managed to keep quiet during this scene, sensing something important was happening. But now she could no longer contain herself.

"No, my dear, we most certainly don't want you to be late! I told you that ages ago! Now let's go and get you married." She turned and scurried down the hall, leading the way to the gardens.

After a few twists and turns, Helma motioned towards a set of double glass doors. "There you go, dearie. They're all waiting for you out there." Sarah knelt and quickly hugged the little goblin, thanking her for her help, then she stood and took a deep breath. This was it.

"Good luck, Sarah," Merelinda told her sincerely. Sarah smiled her thanks, and slowly opened the glass doors.


	50. the wedding

Ch 51

The garden was absolutely beautiful. Hundreds of flowers were blooming everywhere she looked. Across the garden there was a small pond, with a waterfall gently splashing water into it from a nearby brook. In front of the pond stood Jareth, and once she saw him, Sarah couldn't take her eyes off him. He possessed an ethereal beauty, and her heart swelled as she thought she was about to take this amazing man as her husband.

Jareth had turned when he heard the doors open, and he could only gaze at Sarah in awe. Never before had he seen such a beautiful vision. She was perfect, flawless, radiating with an inner beauty that he loved as much as her outer beauty. He was so focused on the sight of his bride-to-be that he didn't even notice Merelinda slipping through the doors after her.

Slowly, Sarah walked through the flowers until she was standing next to Jareth. Her heart was pounding, and she looked at him with glistening eyes. His eyes were just as emotional as he gently took her hand and raised it to his lips. "My love, you look…" he was unable to think of words appropriate enough to describe her glowing beauty. She smiled at him. "You, too."

Sarah had hardly noticed Julie, until she came and stood by her side, radiant in a shimmering blue gown. Julie gave her a grin and a thumbs-up sign. Bayron, who had taken his place in front of them, asked, "Are you both ready?" They nodded.

Sarah looked over to her family, and her father and Karen smiled at her. Toby was sitting there looking slightly bored, no doubt wishing he was somewhere more exciting for a ten-year-old boy. Sarah smiled at them with shining eyes, then turned back to Jareth.

"Jareth and Sarah," Bayron began. "I don't think I have ever known two people who are a more perfect match. It was truly a blessing that the fates saw fit to bring you together again, because I know how deeply you love one another. It is an honor to bring together such wonderful people. You both are able to warm any room with the love you share, and that is plain to see for anyone. I wish you both nothing but eternal happiness."

By now, Sarah had silent tears streaming down her face. She repeated the vows Bayron recited to her, and Jareth did the same. Bayron handed them the rings they would exchange, shining bands of white gold dotted with diamonds. With a shaking hand, Sarah placed the ring on Jareth's finger. After he did the same with her, they looked into each others eyes as Bayron declared them husband and wife, bound together for all eternity.

Jareth pulled her close to him and she melted into a warm, soft kiss. They stood like that for several moments, locked together, and there wasn't a single person in the audience who had a dry eye.

When they broke the kiss, Jareth said simply, "I love you, Sarah. I promise I will love you and cherish you forever, with all of my heart." She smiled at him as more silent tears of happiness fell. "I love you, too, Jareth, I have given you my entire heart, and I swear to love you always." They smiled at each other, and joined hands as they turned to their wedding guests.

Sarah's parents ran over to her and hugged her tight. "I'm so happy for you, sweetheart," her father whispered. She hugged him tighter, loving him for being so wonderful. Karen was next, and she said softly, "I'm glad you followed your heart."

Sarah looked around for Toby, and saw him playing in the far corner of the garden with a goblin she recognized as Hebert, who was Herma's son. She smiled at the sight of them, glad Toby had made a friend.

Someone grabbed Sarah's hand, and she turned to see Julie's smiling face. Julie grabbed her and hugged her tight. "Oh my god, Sarah, I'm so happy for you. This was such a beautiful wedding, and you look gorgeous! Your dress is amazing, and your hair! Wow!" Sarah laughed at her friends enthusiasm, realizing she had missed her, ans she silently vowed to see Julie as often as possible.

Sarah glanced around to see Jareth talking with a regal-looking couple who she guessed were his parents. She was surprised she hadn't noticed them earlier, but then, she had only had eyes for Jareth. _My husband_. The words made her grin, and she made her way over to Jareth.

Jareth smiled at her as she approached, and put his arm around her waist. "Sarah, these are my parents, Sharine and Roan. Mother, Father, I'd like you to meet my wife, Sarah." Sarah smiled at both of them as they greeted her.

"I'm sorry we couldn't meet you before the wedding, but we've just been so busy lately!" Sharine said to Sarah. Sharine instinctively liked this woman; she could tell she had a good heart, and Sharine was glad her son had chosen such a fine woman for his wife and Queen.

Sarah and Jareth chatted with his parents for a while, then Sarah motioned for her parents to come over. _This should be interesting_, she thought wryly. But surprisingly, the two sets of parents got along quite well, and before long they were all engrossed in conversation. Jareth and Sarah slipped away and sat on a bench in the garden, not talking, just holding each other close and giving each other gentle kisses. They were truly the picture of newlyweds, with thoughts of only their love for each other.

After awhile, they noticed that the garden had emptied. Sarah looked around curiously, but Jareth smiled and said, "They all went inside for dinner, and I don't think anyone wanted to interrupt us." She smiled, and stood up. "Well, come on, we can't miss our own wedding dinner, can we?"

He grinned back at her. "I suppose not." He took her hand and began leading her to the dining room.


	51. together at last

Ch 52

When they reached the dining room, Sarah gazed around in wonder. It had been decorated earlier that day, and flowers and glittery streamers were everywhere. A buffet-style dinner was laid out against an entire wall, and Sarah laughed to see goblins running and jumping around, helping themselves to the food.

"I told them they could come to the dinner, since they have tried so hard to make your visits here enjoyable," Jareth told her as he saw her watching the goblins. "Needless to say, they're pretty excited." Just then, the goblins noticed that they had entered, and they immediately started clapping, glad to see their nice new Queen, the one who had made their formerly mean King so happy.

Sarah smiled at them all, and spent a few moments speaking with a few of them. Then turned her attention to dinner. She and Jareth grabbed plates of food and settled into conversation with their guests. Sarah had to giggle as she saw her father eyeing the goblins warily. "They're harmless, Dad!"

Sarah noticed that Merelinda was not at the table, and figured she must have slipped away after the ceremony. Sarah wasn't too disappointed she had left; who knew what kind of complications could have arisen had she stayed? She forced her thoughts from Merelinda and concentrated on her guests.

Sarah soon became aware of soft music playing in the background, although she couldn't tell where it was coming from. Julie and Bayron had gotten up and were dancing merrily around the room, showing everyone that Sarah and Jareth weren't the only happy newlyweds, and Sarah smiled at her friend, glad she was having such a good time.

Suddenly, the music changed, and Sarah's eyes widened as she recognized the song.

_There's such a sad love  
Deep in your eyes, a kind of pale jewel  
Open and closed within your eyes  
I'll place the sky within your eyes_

Jareth held out his hand to her, and she stood up and wrapped her arms around him. They danced slowly around the room, lost in each other.

There's such a fooled heart  
Beating so fast in search of new dreams  
A love that will last within your heart  
I'll place the moon within your heart

"I love you," she murmured, her head against his chest. He tightened his arms around her waist and held her close, remembering that dance so long ago, when he had sung her these same words, hoping she would love him.

As the pain sweeps through  
Makes no sense for you  
Every thrill has gone  
Wasn't too much fun at all

He held her tight, content in the knowledge that she despite what had happened all those years ago, she was his now, to love for all eternity.

_But I'll be there for you-oo-oo  
As the world falls down_

_Falling…falling in love_

"I will always love you, Sarah," he whispered, his lips next to her ear, and she shivered at the sensation of his breath on her neck.

I'll paint you mornings of gold  
I'll spin you Valentine evenings  
Though we're strangers till now  
We're choosing the path between the stars  
I'll leave my love between the stars

They stayed wrapped up in one another long after the song ended, and everyone at the table was watching them, misty-eyed, glad for their happiness. Everyone stayed late into the evening, and it wasn't until Toby was sound asleep in his chair that they began to yawn themselves. Couple by couple, starting with Sarah's parents, the guests excused themselves, and Sarah and Jareth soon found themselves alone.

Sarah looked into his eyes, her heart pounding. Without waiting another second, she pressed her lips against his in a passionate kiss, one which he returned just as passionately. He ran his hands up and down her back, and she pulled him closer to her, pressing her body up against his.

Suddenly, they were in their bedroom, and Sarah glanced around in surprise before pulling Jareth back to her. He laid her gently down against the soft pillows and kissed her, caressing her face. With a wave of his hand, Sarah's wedding gown was hanging neatly in the wardrobe, and she was clad in nothing but her underwear.

"Hey, that's not fair," she mumbled against his lips, and he smiled at the familiar words. She quickly starting pulling off his shirt, and he stood up to help her. Slowly, he slipped out of his shirt, and then slid his pants down his muscular thighs until he was wearing nothing. Sarah stared at his magnificent form, marveling that this beautiful man was hers, and then he was on top of her, trailing kisses up and down her neck. She slid her underwear down her legs, kicking it off the bed, and then they were joined as one, lost in the sensations their movements brought. As they found their release in each other, they both felt the incredible joy that comes so rarely, a joy only felt by two people deeply, truly in love, who will love each other for the rest of time.


	52. Epilogue: happily ever after

Epilogue: Two years later

Sarah grinned at the little girl trying so hard to walk towards her. "Come on Danya, you can do it sweetie," she gently encouraged her. The baby looked surprised as she promptly fell on her behind, and Sarah laughed asDanya let out a whimper.

"Oh, baby, it's okay, come here to Mommy." Sarah scooped up her daughter and held her close, breathing in her adorable baby scent.Danya gurgled happily in her mother's arms.

Karen and Richard were watching the scene, smiling. They had come to enjoy their visits to the Underground, and now that they had a granddaughter, they looked forward to their trips even more. Their visit today was just coming to an end, and Richard took the baby from Sarah's arms.

"Say good bye to Grampa, come on Danya, you can say it. Say, goodbye Grampa!" Sarah and Karen laughed at Richard's attempts to get the baby to talk. He did it ever since she was born, and although she managed to spit out a few words here and there, she had yet to speak to her grandfather. Sarah thought it was cute how hard he tried.

After saying their good-byes, and with Richard and Karen givingDanya one last kiss, Sarahconjured a crystaland sent them back home.

She grinned to herself as she walked withDanya in her arms down to the nursery. After all this time, she still amazed herself when she used magic. She didn't think she'd ever get used to it.

As she was lyingDanya down for a nap, she felt someone staring at her, and turned to see Jareth leaning in the doorway, watching them with a smile on his face.

"Hi, love," he said to her, walking over to her and kissing her on the cheek. "How was your visit with your parents? DidDanya finally talk to your dad?" Sarah laughed and shook her head. "No, she didn't, but he had a good time trying! We had a fun afternoon, didn't we, sweetie?" she cooed, looking down at the sleepy baby.Danya sighed her agreement and drifted off to sleep.

Sarah and Jareth stood with their arms around each other, watching their sleeping child. Jareth looked at his daughter's angelic face, and was amazed for the zillionth time that this precious little girl was his. He, the mighty Goblin King, was a daddy, and he loved every second of it. He turned to the Goblin Queen and kissed her. She took his hand and led him next door to their bedroom.

He had a smile on his face as he sat on the bed and tried to pull her down with him. But she stopped him. "Wait, love, I have something I need to tell you." She looked so serious that he felt a flutter of nervousness in his stomach. "Sarah, my love, what's wrong?"

She tried to look serious, but couldn't contain a smile. "Nothing's wrong at all, Jareth. I just have some news for you." Her eyes were shining with joy as she looked at her husband.

His eyes widened. "You're not—are we-?" She laughed and nodded her head. "Neela confirmed it this morning while you were away."

He laughed as he stood and grabbed her in his arms, twirling her around. "Oh, I can't believe it, we're going to have another child! I love you so much!" He kissed her deeply, filled with joy at the prospect of having another child with Sarah. He loved her more every day, and continuously thanked the fates for bringing her back to him.

As they fell onto the bed, Sarah thought about how happy she was here, how quickly she had settled into her role as Goblin Queen. Shel oved her husband more than the day she married him, and as she thought about her life, her husband, her child and the baby growing inside her, she silently thanked the heavens for giving her happily ever after.

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**A/N: **Whew, all done! If you can't tell, I'm a sucker for happy endings! Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who reviewed, you all gave me a lot of encouragement to get this written. I've had a lot of free time lately, which was why I was able to write and post so much so quickly. Luckily, I wasn't paid a visit by that nasty little thing called writer's block (knock on wood). This was my first fanfic, and I was nervous that no one would read it. Or that people would read it and think it sucked :-) So I am eternally grateful to those of you who didn't think this sucked, and even more grateful to those of you who reviewed. Yay, you guys are great!

I have a sequel in mind for this story, so maybe someday soon you'll see that on here. For now, I'm working on another Sarah and Jareth story, very different from this though. I'm not sure if I like it, but I'll be posting the first few chapters soon to see what everyone thinks. So keep your eyes out for that, coming soon to a computer screen near you!


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